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Sarkozy Has Two-Point Lead in French Race
(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - Nicolas Sarkozy is holding on to a slight advantage in France, according to a poll by Ifop published in Le Journal du Dimanche. 26 per cent of respondents would vote for the Union for a Popular Movement (UMP) candidate in next month's presidential election.
Ségolène Royal of the Socialist Party (PS) is second with 24 per cent, followed by Union for French Democracy (UDF) leader François Bayrou with 22.5 per cent, and Jean-Marie Le Pen of the National Front (FN) with 14 per cent.
Support is lower for Revolutionary Communist League (LCR) member Olivier Besancenot, Arlette Laguiller of Workers' Struggle (LO), Marie-George Buffet of the French Communist Party (PCF), farmer-activist José Bové, Dominique Voynet of the Greens (Verts), Movement for France (MPF) leader Philippe de Villiers, and Frédéric Nihous of Hunting, Fishing, Nature, Traditions (CPNT).
Sarkozy currently serves as France's interior minister. Royal is the leader of the regional government of Poitou-Charentes. In a prospective run-off scenario, Sarkozy holds a three-point advantage over Royal.
On Mar. 15, Sarkozy discussed his views on immigration, saying, "A person who enters France illegally, a person who makes no attempt to integrate, that person should not expect to have the same rights as a French person. (...) I want to protect France and its values."
The UMP's Jacques Chirac won the presidential ballot in 1995, and was re-elected in a run-off over Le Pen in May 2002. The next election is scheduled for Apr. 22. If no candidate garners more than 50 per cent of all cast ballots, a run-off would take place on May 6.
Polling Data
Who would you vote for in the presidential election?
Mar. 17 | Mar. 9 | Feb. 23 | |
Nicolas Sarkozy | 26% | 28% | 28% |
Ségolène Royal | 24% | 23% | 28% |
François Bayrou | 22.5% | 23% | 17% |
Jean-Marie Le Pen | 14% | 13% | 11.5% |
Olivier Besancenot | 3% | 3.5% | 3% |
Arlette Laguiller | 3% | 2% | 2.5% |
Marie-George Buffet | 2% | 2% | 2.5% |
José Bové | 2% | 1.5% | 2% |
Dominique Voynet | 1.5% | 1% | 2% |
Philippe de Villiers | 1.5% | 1% | 2% |
Frédéric Nihous | 0.5% | 1% | -- |
Gérard Schivardi | -- | 0.5% | -- |
Corinne Lepage | n.a. | 0.5% | 0.5% |
Nicolas Dupont-Aignant | n.a. | -- | 1% |
Run-Off Scenario
Mar. 17 | Feb. 23 | Feb. 15 | |
Nicolas Sarkozy | 51.5% | 50.5% | 53% |
Ségolène Royal | 48.5% | 49.5% | 47% |
Source: Ifop / Le Journal du Dimanche
Methodology: Telephone interviews with 911 French registered voters, conducted on Mar. 16 and Mar. 17, 2007. No margin of error was provided.