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| Version 2 | Version 3 |
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| French contenders set for run-off | French contenders set for run-off |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| The top two candidates in the first round of the French presidential election are beginning intense campaigning for the run-off on 6 May. | The top two candidates in the first round of the French presidential election are beginning intense campaigning for the run-off on 6 May. |
| Centre-right candidate Nicolas Sarkozy and Socialist Segolene Royal defeated 10 others in Sunday's ballot, with a record voter turnout of nearly 85%. | Centre-right candidate Nicolas Sarkozy and Socialist Segolene Royal defeated 10 others in Sunday's ballot, with a record voter turnout of nearly 85%. |
| Mr Sarkozy garnered 31% of the vote, while Ms Royal, bidding to be France's first female leader, took nearly 26%. | Mr Sarkozy garnered 31% of the vote, while Ms Royal, bidding to be France's first female leader, took nearly 26%. |
| Opinion polls after the result showed Mr Sarkozy would win the run-off. | Opinion polls after the result showed Mr Sarkozy would win the run-off. |
| On Monday, Mr Sarkozy is due to address a rally in the eastern city of Dijon and Ms Royal is due in Valence, in southern France. | On Monday, Mr Sarkozy is due to address a rally in the eastern city of Dijon and Ms Royal is due in Valence, in southern France. |
| Middle ground | Middle ground |
| Voters are now faced with a clear left-right choice. | Voters are now faced with a clear left-right choice. |
| FIRST ROUND RESULTS Nicolas Sarkozy - 31.2%Segolene Royal - 25.9%Francois Bayrou - 18.6%Jean-Marie Le Pen - 10.4% First round stirs passions In depth: France decides | |
| That political divide may be a return to French tradition, but both candidates are something new for France, says the BBC's Caroline Wyatt in Paris. | That political divide may be a return to French tradition, but both candidates are something new for France, says the BBC's Caroline Wyatt in Paris. |
| Mr Sarkozy, the son of a Hungarian immigrant, has a free market stance that sometimes seems closer to that of Britain or the US and an aggressive image that is also a departure from the patrician style of past presidents. | Mr Sarkozy, the son of a Hungarian immigrant, has a free market stance that sometimes seems closer to that of Britain or the US and an aggressive image that is also a departure from the patrician style of past presidents. |
| He is hated by the left as a reformer who many fear would change the French way of life by making the nation work harder and longer and by cutting back on its generous welfare state. | He is hated by the left as a reformer who many fear would change the French way of life by making the nation work harder and longer and by cutting back on its generous welfare state. |
| Ms Royal is a woman who fought her way to the candidacy against the will of her senior Socialist colleagues, our correspondent says. | Ms Royal is a woman who fought her way to the candidacy against the will of her senior Socialist colleagues, our correspondent says. |
| Her campaign has been dogged by wrangles over policy and a series of gaffes. | Her campaign has been dogged by wrangles over policy and a series of gaffes. |
| French voters' viewsIn pictures | French voters' viewsIn pictures |
| She is a regional leader whose presidential pledges include a higher minimum wage along with a new form of youth job contract, to ensure that the young in France have a chance of entering the tough job market that all but the best-qualified feel excluded from. | She is a regional leader whose presidential pledges include a higher minimum wage along with a new form of youth job contract, to ensure that the young in France have a chance of entering the tough job market that all but the best-qualified feel excluded from. |
| But the run-off could be won by an appeal to the middle ground - and the 18% of voters who supported the centrist Francois Bayrou on Sunday, our correspondent says. | But the run-off could be won by an appeal to the middle ground - and the 18% of voters who supported the centrist Francois Bayrou on Sunday, our correspondent says. |
| Mr Sarkozy addressed a cheering crowd at his election headquarters, after winning the highest number of votes for a candidate in the first round since 1974. | Mr Sarkozy addressed a cheering crowd at his election headquarters, after winning the highest number of votes for a candidate in the first round since 1974. |
| He said France had chosen to have a real debate between two different types of politics and asked people to rally behind him. | He said France had chosen to have a real debate between two different types of politics and asked people to rally behind him. |
| Ms Royal said she represented those who wanted to "reform France without brutalising it". | Ms Royal said she represented those who wanted to "reform France without brutalising it". |
| NEXT STAGE OF ELECTION 27 April: Campaigning restarts2 May: Televised debate6 May: Second round poll10 May: Final official results Q&A: French election | NEXT STAGE OF ELECTION 27 April: Campaigning restarts2 May: Televised debate6 May: Second round poll10 May: Final official results Q&A: French election |
| She is said to have already received pledges of support from the other six left-wing candidates who won a total of about 10%. | She is said to have already received pledges of support from the other six left-wing candidates who won a total of about 10%. |
| But the far-right National Front, whose leader Jean-Marie Le Pen failed to reach the second round as he did in 2002, said their voters "were not for sale" - an apparent warning shot to Mr Sarkozy. | But the far-right National Front, whose leader Jean-Marie Le Pen failed to reach the second round as he did in 2002, said their voters "were not for sale" - an apparent warning shot to Mr Sarkozy. |
| Opinion polls taken after Sunday's results gave Mr Sarkozy between 52 and 54% of the vote - against 46 and 48% for Ms Royal. | Opinion polls taken after Sunday's results gave Mr Sarkozy between 52 and 54% of the vote - against 46 and 48% for Ms Royal. |
| And only 14% were uncertain of who they wanted to cast their ballot for. | And only 14% were uncertain of who they wanted to cast their ballot for. |