
Nicolas Sarkozy, a former interior minister and candidate of France's governing party, faces Socialist Party candidate Segolene Royal in the May 6 runoff election for the presidency. Royal and Sarkozy are approaching the runoff to replace President Jacques Chirac with polls showing Sarkozy leading the vote. Francois Bayrou, the centrist who finished third in the first round of the election, has withheld endorsing either Sarkozy or Royal. This report includes comments from Sarkozy; Royal; Bayrou; Dominique Barbet, economist at BNP Paribas SA; Pierre Cailleteau, chief international policy analyst at Moody's Investors Service; Eric Chaney, chief European economist at Morgan Stanley; Franz Wenzel, deputy director of investment strategy at Axa Investment Managers; Jean-Paul Betbeze, chief economist at Credit Agricole SA; Stefan Collignon, a professor at the London School of Economics; Gerard Grunberg, an analyst at the Centre de Recherches Politiques at Sciences Po; an
