FRANCE: Conservative candidate Nicolas Sarkozy's supporters rally last minute support in Paris

With just hours to go before the French elections, supporters of right-winger Nicolas Sarkozy have been drumming up last minute support for their candidate and say they are confident of victory. Dozens of Sarkozy supporters gathered in central Paris on Saturday (April 21) to rally support from undecided voters. The group stood in the Place de la Republique to talk to passersby, and give them blue flowers in accordance with their party colour. In the last 72 hours they have been more active than usual in a last-minute attempt to convince more voters to support their candidate. One Sarkozy supporter told Reuters how people react when she tried to win their support. "What am I often asked?" asked Ariane Cerutti. "Well, the first question is what do we like in Nicolas Sarkozy? Generally, people are a bit afraid of Nicolas Sarkozy's personality. But our best answer is that he has a great will power, charisma and he's as imposing as a head of state must be," said Cerutti. Sarkozy goes into France's presidential election on Sunday (April 22) with an edge over Socialist Segolene Royal in opinion polls, but millions of undecided voters could yet cause a surprise. Voting began a day early in some overseas territories on Saturday, with the final opinion polls showing Sarkozy ahead of Royal and 10 other candidates, putting the two front-runners on course for a second-round run-off on May 6. After months of active campaigning most of the right-wing candidate's supporters are confident of victory. "Nicolas has run a very healthy campaign," said Laurence Thouin, another Sarkozy supporter. "I think he managed to convince people. We'll see tomorrow. Of course, nothing is won yet, but I have faith," said Thouin. Sarkozy, the son of a Hungarian immigrant, promises to crack down on crime and improve life for a "silent majority" of hard-working French. But surveys suggest up to a third of France's 44.5 million voters have not made a final decision and neither third-placed centrist Francois Bayrou nor veteran far-right leader Jean-Marie Le Pen have given up hope. Jobs, globalisation and security have been at the heart of the campaign less than two years after riots broke out in deprived housing estates. There has also been a strong urge for change after outgoing President Jacques Chirac's 12 years in power. Sarkozy and the Socialist candidate Ségolène Royal have both campaigned as outsiders to the hidebound system of government and promise renewal. But the campaign has focused on personality as much as policies. "I think many people are going to vote for Bayrou," said Pierre de Charnac, one of the Sarkozy supporters gathered at the Place de la République. "Because unfortunately some people are a bit afraid of Nicolas Sarkozy, I think nothing is certain yet. That is why I am still an activist today, to try to convince a few people here and there because everybody sees Sarkozy at the top of the polls but I'm afraid of people thinking 'Well, he is certain to go through, so we're not going to vote for him'," said de Charnac. Sarkozy, 52, a former interior and finance minister, was applauded by many voters for a tough response to the 2005 riots and many in the financial sector see him as the candidate with the strongest attachment to free-market reforms. But his combative and hyperactive character has also worried some voters and rivals portray him as dangerously authoritarian.

ITN Source | April 22, 2007

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