the polls thus far has been Nicolas Sarkozy, the leader of the UMP party. M. Sarkozy is known to be tough, sometimes blunt, decisive, and ambitious. He generally favors free enterprise as opposed to socialistic tinkering with the economy and markets. In particular he opposes the mandatory 35 hour This article describes the top four candidates in the upcoming Presidential election in France and their general political stances, as well as their standings in the latest public opinion polls.

In several weeks there will be a Presidential election in France which will end the 12 year reign of Jacques Chirac. It looks to be a close and interesting race, and the first round of voting is on April 22. Here is a brief look at the top four candidates in the polls.

There are in fact 12 candidates who have qualified to be on the ballot based on obtaining the endorsement of at least 500 elected officials (mostly town mayors). This list will be pared down to two, and a second round of voting will occur two weeks after the first to decide the winner. The reason for two rounds of voting is that the President must be elected by a majority of those voting, and that is virtually impossible in one round with so many candidates.

Polls are notoriously inaccurate in France for choosing the eventual winner of an election. Many people do not decide upon their choice until the end of the campaign, and at best the polls are a snapshot of feelings on a given day.

The leading candidate in the polls thus far has been Nicolas Sarkozy, the leader of the UMP party. M. Sarkozy is known to be tough, sometimes blunt, decisive, and ambitious. He generally favors free enterprise as opposed to socialistic tinkering with the economy and markets. In particular he opposes the mandatory 35 hour w

ues Chirac. It looks to be a close and interesting race, and the first round of voting is on April 22. Here is a brief look at the top four candidates in the polls.

There are in fact 12 candidates who have qualified to be on the ballot based on obtaining the endorsement of at least 500 elected officials (mostly town mayors). This list will be pared down to two, and a second round of voting will occur two weeks after the first to decide the winner. The reason for two rounds of voting is that the President must be elected by a majority of those voting, and that is virtually impossible in one round with so many candidates.

Polls are notoriously inaccurate in France for choosing the eventual winner of an election. Many people do not decide upon their choice until the end of the campaign, and at best the polls are a snapshot of feelings on a given day.

The leading candidate in the polls thus far has been Nicolas Sarkozy, the leader of the UMP party. M. Sarkozy is known to be tough, sometimes blunt, decisive, and ambitious. He generally favors free enterprise as opposed to socialistic tinkering with the economy and markets. In particular he opposes the mandatory 35 hour

officials (mostly town mayors). This list will be pared down to two, and a second round of voting will occur two weeks after the first to decide the winner. The reason for two rounds of voting is that the President must be elected by a majority of those voting, and that is virtually impossible in one round with so many candidates.

Polls are notoriously inaccurate in France for choosing the eventual winner of an election. Many people do not decide upon their choice until the end of the campaign, and at best the polls are a snapshot of feelings on a given day.

The leading candidate in the polls thus far has been Nicolas Sarkozy, the leader of the UMP party. M. Sarkozy is known to be tough, sometimes blunt, decisive, and ambitious. He generally favors free enterprise as opposed to socialistic tinkering with the economy and markets. In particular he opposes the mandatory 35 hour

one round with so many candidates.

Polls are notoriously inaccurate in France for choosing the eventual winner of an election. Many people do not decide upon their choice until the end of the campaign, and at best the polls are a snapshot of feelings on a given day.

The leading candidate in the polls thus far has been Nicolas Sarkozy, the leader of the UMP party. M. Sarkozy is known to be tough, sometimes blunt, decisive, and ambitious. He generally favors free enterprise as opposed to socialistic tinkering with the economy and markets. In particular he opposes the mandatory 35 hour

the polls thus far has been Nicolas Sarkozy, the leader of the UMP party. M. Sarkozy is known to be tough, sometimes blunt, decisive, and ambitious. He generally favors free enterprise as opposed to socialistic tinkering with the economy and markets. In particular he opposes the mandatory 35 hour work week limit passed several years ago by a socialist government. He is also outspoken about the existing immigration policies in France. He recently resigned as Interior Minister, a top cabinet position, in order to concentrate full-time on the campaign. He has held a lead in the polls for some time, but that lead is normally only a few percentage points. Polls currently indicate that he will be the top vote getter in the first round and would defeat Mme Royal in a second round match-up but would lose to Francois Bayrou in the second round.

The second strongest candidate in the polls thus far is Segolene Royal of the PS (Parti Socialist). The PS is of course on the left of the political spectrum. Mme Royal would be the first female President of France. One might say that she has a certain advantage in that the UMP party with Jacques Chirac, her most significant opponents, has held the office for 12 years, and the French might be ready for a change. M. Chirac’s popularity is currently quite low, although it has picked up a bit in recent weeks since he finally announced recently that he would not be a candidate again. Mme Royal has been slightly behind in the polls, but i