FRANCE: Outgoing President Jacques Chirac to return to home town to cast vote on Sunday

Mayor of Chirac's home town of Serran talks highly of the outgoing president and says he has done a lot to help the the local community. The outgoing president is expected to return to the town on Sunday to cast his vote in the first round of the presidential elections. Outgoing president Jacques Chirac is expected to return to his home town of Serran on Sunday (April 22) to cast his vote in the first round of the French presidential elections. The Chirac family is well established in the village of 300 residents, where they own an estate known as the Chateau de Bity, which the family bought in 1969. Chirac's wife, the First Lady Bernadette Chirac, has also been an elected member of Sarran's municipal council since 1971. The Chiracs' ownership of Bity castle has been the source of much controversy over the years, as it was declared a historic monument one month after it was acquired by the Chiracs and the family later refused to open the castle to the public. However, the Mayor of Sarran, Michel Poincheval, on Saturday (April 21) spoke highly of Chirac, describing the president as a fun loving man and saying that he had done a lot for the residents of the town during his years as president. "He likes to joke around, he enjoys a good laugh," Poincheval told Reuters. "He was very close to people, every time there was a small problem, like a job for someone's son, he was very helpful," he added. Right-winger Nicolas Sarkozy goes into France's presidential election on Sunday 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. Sarkozy, the son of a Hungarian immigrant, promises to crack down on crime and improve life for a "silent majority" of hard-working French. Royal, who wants to be France's first woman president, has pledged to re-unite a divided nation. But the 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 and veteran far-right leader Jean-Marie Le Pen has given up hope. Le Pen shocked France in the last election in 2002 by beating Socialist Lionel Jospin in the first round before losing a run-off to Jacques Chirac, who is not seeking a third term. Jobs, globalisation and security have been at the heart of the campaign less than two years after riots broke out in deprived housing estates, with France's more than eight percent unemployment rate one of the highest in the European Union. The close election has caused wide interest following the shock of 2002, when record abstentions helped Le Pen, and since France's shock rejection of the EU constitution in 2005. Voter registrations have risen by 4.2 percent, the sharpest rise since 1981.

ITN Source | April 22, 2007

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