FRANCE: First presidential poll of 2007 ahead of French election give Socialist candidate Segolene Royal a probable victory

French voters will choose Socialist candidate Segolene Royal as their next president, according to the first opinion poll of 2007 published in Le Parisien and TV channel Canal + on Thursday (January 4). It was the first time Royal crossed the victory line in polls ahead of her main rival, centre-right Union for a Popular Movement (UMP) presidential hopeful Nicolas Sarkozy. The poll gave Royal 52 percent of votes if she faces Nicolas Sarkozy in a second round of voting. Interior Minister Sarkozy and Royal have been running neck and neck in opinion polls ahead of the first round of voting set for April 22, with each promising a clean break with the past. "2007 is an exceptional year because in an few months we will choose in which kind of France we want to live together and with which values we want to move foward. A lot of French people even if their choice has not been made yet want to take part in that decision," Royal said at a news conference in Paris on Thursday. Sarkozy promotes himself as a stern defender of law and order, while Royal presents an innovative image as she bids to become France's first female president. As the nation absorbed the latest poll results, Sarkozy attended a memorial cermony for a France's Gendarmerie who was killed earlier in the week in an apparent car accident. Defense Minister Michele Alliott-Marie, who is also considering a run for the presidency, accompanied him to the ceremony in northern France. Numerous candidates are expected to stand in the first round including Communist Party leader Marie-George Buffet. Political analysts believe French President Jacques Chirac, who is languishing in the opinion polls after almost 12 years in power, is unlikely to seek re-election, but far-right leader Jean-Marie Le Pen has said he believes the veteran leader would spring a surprise.

ITN Source | January 5, 2007

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