Sarkozy's troops join the battle for London

The croissants were baked to perfection for the businessman sitting outside a cafe, reading Le Figaro in the sunshine. The chic residents strolled through the streets, picking up a baguette as students cycled past.

Yet this was not Paris or Bordeaux. It was London - home to an estimated 400,000 French expats and jokingly referred to as France's sixth largest city.

South Kensington has become a hotbed of turmoil as the French community agonises over who to vote for in the presidential elections.

The financier, holding forth outside a French-language bookshop, said President Nicolas Sarkozy must be re-elected, or France will be ruined.

The shop assistant told how many of her friends had fled France since he came to power in 2007, and how Francois Hollande, his Socialist challenger, must win. The baker claimed France really needed Angela Merkel.

"She is someone who would really sort this all out," said Louis Loizides, 72, who has lived in London for 20 years and runs La Grande Bouchee.

From behind a counter piled high with baguettes, Mr Loizides said his grocery store was a hive of political debate. "A lot of people are unsure who to vote for. They are following the discussions closely."

As if on cue, a woman ordering a slab of brie turned and raised her arms in theatrical horror. "I have no idea who I will vote for," she said.

"Sarkozy is so vulgar - he is not well read, he is rude, and is not an intellectual like our previous presidents.

"But at least he is proactive. He is making France an international force to be reckoned with, and not just living on in our beautiful past." She paused. "Actually - I will maybe vote for him after all."

There are only three weeks until the French go to the polls for the first round of the election. The latest surveys showed Mr Sarkozy, from the UMP party, just edging ahead of Mr Hollande with 30% to 26% of the vote.

The polls, however, say Mr Hollande will win the May 6 second round, but show Mr Sarkozy narrowing his lead.

And in London, often described as "Paris-on-Thames" for its huge numbers of French residents, the debate is heating up. The French outnumber most other Western European nations in London - there are estimated to be about 200,000 Spaniards.

Almost 100,000 French voters are registered in London, and Emmanuelle Savarit, the UMP's delegate, is pounding the streets for Mr Sarkozy.

"He is the best person to do the job," she told The Sunday Telegraph.

"So many people point out what he has not managed to achieve but they forget what he has. He has raised the age of retirement and encouraged business.

"He has been a successful President of Europe and led France through the financial crisis. It has not been easy, as austerity measures are not ever going to be popular."

If Mr Sarkozy has improved the country so much, why are so many French living in London? She laughed. "People have built their lives here," she said. "Some have gone back, but most French, in a time of financial crisis, do not want to rock the boat by leaving their homes and jobs. Besides, we love London. You have the best range and quality of restaurants in the world."

Miss Savarit, a 39-year-old entrepreneur with a PhD in psychology, is also campaigning for herself. Having lived in London for 18 years, the chic mother-of-two hopes to become France's first "MP for Britain" in the June parliamentary elections. Mr Sarkozy has approved plans to create 11 new constituencies to represent the French diaspora.

Miss Savarit's intended seat of "Europe Nord" includes Britain, Ireland, Scandinavia and the Baltic states - but London is the focus of the campaign. "It's true that some of the French voters I meet regularly were sceptical about Mr Sarkozy's re-election," she said.

"But now they are beginning to realise it is for the best. Francois Hollande would bankrupt France. He wants to increase the number of civil servants and teachers, while he attacks finance and business. It's impossible!"

Outside The French Bookshop, Pierre, 47, a financier, agreed. "If Hollande is elected it will be a nightmare," he said. "He will ruin France. His policies will turn the country into 1970s Soviet Union, stopping all forms of enterprise."

Pierre said he left Paris because he was "fed up" trying to raise three children in a city he describes as "polluted, unfriendly, aggressive and dirty". In London, he felt safer and more appreciated.

"In France if you make money you are seen as a traitor to the nation," he said. "It is not a country that is pro-business - even with Sarkozy. Although I support Sarkozy, I don't think he has a clear economic strategy. He has been too shy with his reforms, and not rolled back the 35-hour working week or broken the blockage of the unions."

A few yards away down Bute Street - known as "Frog Alley" for its French shops - Sonia Fitoussi, a photographer, said she would also be voting for Mr Sarkozy.

"He gets my vote because he is a good international leader. In London, you see that better than in France, perhaps."

Mr Sarkozy has made much of his international credentials, saying his strong working relationship with Angela Merkel, the German Chancellor, is worth preserving.

He has also used the Toulouse shootings to hammer home favourite topics of law and order, security and crime.

But for Melody, 27, an assistant at Librarie La Page, Mr Sarkozy has not served France well. She refused to reveal how she would vote, but said many of her friends left France after Mr Sarkozy's election.

"I think Francois Hollande has done very well," she said, "He has changed his image and is coming across as a dignified, thoughtful politician."

Campaigning on Mr Hollande's behalf is Axelle Lemaire, a 36-year-old lawyer. Armed with an electoral register, GPS system and bicycle, she has been pedalling the streets of London to meet French voters face-to-face. "People are ready to trust Mr Hollande," she told The Sunday Telegraph.

"There is a very strong anti-Sarkozy feeling, and we now need to convince voters of the credibility of his programme."

But that must be difficult, given that the French community is characterised by wealthy financiers who fear his programme of higher taxation?

"Not all French people living in London work in banks," she said. "If you look at his manifesto, the 75% tax will only affect earnings over a million euros - so that will involve about 3,000 people out of 65 million. And people forget that under Sarkozy the public debt has doubled, if you take into account his whole period in government first as finance minister then as president.

"We are having a serious debate with voters. But it is with figures and precise ideas, not false promises."

Mr Hollande came to London last month to woo voters but does not seem to have had a huge impact.

Typical was Gerard, 45, an electricity trader, drinking a latte outside the French bakery chain, Paul. "Sarkozy promised to make the country better, but I don't think anything has changed much," he said. "But then Hollande is worse, and would probably send more businesses and more French to London.

"I don't like Sarkozy," he said. "But I'll probably vote for him."