Nicolas Sarkozy overtakes Francois Hollande for first time in opinion polls after right-wing pledges on immigration and European trade.
Nicolas Sarkozy yesterday [Tuesday] overtook Francois Hollande, his Socialist rival, for the first time in round one of France's election race, a poll has shown, after the president took a surprise eurosceptic turn on trade and immigration.
The conservative incumbent is still forecast to lose to Mr Hollande in a second round run-off, but the gap has narrowed, providing a crucial boost to his camp's flagging morale.
Mr Sarkozy's spokesman claimed there was "panic" among the Socialists after the Ifop poll suggested that the president would clinch 28.5 per cent of the vote in the first round in April, against 27 per cent for Mr Hollande.
After trailing his rival for the past five months, Mr Sarkozy's aides had warned that if he failed to gain ground after a big rally outside Paris on Sunday then his chances of success would be slim.
In a speech in Villepinte to an audience of tens of thousands, he threatened to pull France out of Europe's 26-nation open travel Schengen zone unless the European Union tightened border controls to keep out illegal immigrants.
He also issued an ultimatum to the EU to adopt measures to fight cheap imports within a year, or see France pass a unilateral "buy French" law. The Hollande camp accused him of behaving like a eurosceptic British Conservative prime minister, but the tactic appears to have turned the tide, even if the lead falls within the margin of error.
Mr Sarkozy's strategists have said that finishing ahead in round one is essential to create the necessary momentum to surpass Mr Hollande in the run-off on May 6.
The Ifop poll gave Mr Hollande 54.5 per cent of the second-round vote to Mr Sarkozy's 45.5 per cent - also good news for the president as he gained two percentage points.
The Socialist team played down the figures. Manuel Valls, the campaign spokesman, said: "Nothing is set. It's one poll among many."
Mr Sarkozy also refused to read into the survey. Grinning broadly, he said: "I didn't believe you when you said it was all over. And I don't believe you any more when you say it's on the rebound."
In third place, National Front leader Marine Le Pen also scored a victory yesterday by securing the "sponsorship" of 500 local government officials for her campaign - a prerequisite to run.
With the March 16 deadline approaching, Miss Le Pen had repeatedly claimed she was having trouble convincing mayors to back her, saying they were under pressure from mainstream parties. "The system that wanted to prevent me has just lost a battle," she said on Twitter.
Philippe Poutou, a car worker who is running for president as the New Anti-Capitalist Party (NPA) candidate, has also gathered the necessary 500 signatures, his party said yesterday.
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