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PARIS - Most of France heaved a collective sigh of relief after the first round of presidential elections dealt a crushing blow to nationalist chief Jean-Marie Le Pen and restored mainstream parties at the political helm.
The conservative Nicolas Sarkozy and the Socialist Segolene Royal were the clear leaders in a near-record turnout that gave a massive boost to France's discredited political system.
Sarkozy, who picked up 31.1 per cent of the vote, and Royal, credited with 25.8 per cent, will now contest a runoff on May 6.
Francois Bayrou, a centrist who spiced the campaign by pitching to the millions of undecided voters, picked up 18.6 per cent but failed to break the political mould.
The big loser was Le Pen, founder of the xenophobic National Front, who shocked France to its marrow in 2002 when in the first round he outran the Socialists' candidate, then-Premier Lionel Jospin. It was the first time a far-right extremist had ever made such a breakthrough, and even though Le Pen was badly defeated by President Jacques Chirac in the second round the country was traumatised.
Many concluded that the French political system was in possibly terminal decline and pointed the finger at the design of the constitution, which gives the president enormous powers, and at the elite that run the country.
This time, with the lesson of 2002 clearly learned, electors on the left migrated away from fringe candidates and greens, who traditionally do well from a first-round protest vote, and plumped for Royal. Le Pen won only 10.5 per cent of the vote, some seven percentage points down on 2002.
Mainstream politicians of every hue expressed joy as the turnout was estimated at more than 84.5 per cent. There were also celebrations over the lashing given to the man who had caused such a scare in 2002.
At 78, Le Pen may well have staged his last assault on the presidency.
He reacted with characteristic bombast to his showing, saying he had believed the French public were dissatisfied and would cast out a "political establishment" that, he said, had presided over France's decline.
"I must have made the wrong assumption," he said.
Even as crowds of supporters were cheering themselves hoarse, Sarkozy and Royal were fine tuning the next stage in their strategy: how to lure supporters of the other candidates, especially Bayrou's centrists.
Both gestured to reach out and pose as national unifiers.
Sarkozy, clearly seeking to soften his hard image, pledged he would be president of a "France which will leave no-one by the wayside".
"My dear compatriots, I want only one thing: to gather the French people around a new French dream," he said.
Royal, seeking to throw off her tax-and-spend tag, said: "I propose to you the choice of a democracy where one breathes freely ... and a waste-free state, an independent judiciary, pluralistic media and a guarantee of public liberties," she said.
Sarkozy goes into the second round as clear favourite. But the huge mass of undecided voters is making this election one of the most unpredictable in French history.
AND THEN THERE WERE TWO ...
Nicolas Sarkozy, 31.1%
Nicolas Sarkozy's high score in the first round makes him clear favourite to be the next president. However, a strong anti-Sarko mood exists. The high turnout yesterday is partly explained by the determination of left-wing voters to bar the route to Jean-Marie Le Pen - but also to gather their forces against Sarkozy.
Segolene Royal, 25.8%
Segolene Royalbecame the first woman to reach the second round of a French presidential election. She will claim her achievement as a personal triumph, won against the ill-will, and outright sabotage, of some people within her own party. Her critics will retort that Royal is a very lucky woman who owes her success largely to fear of Sarkozy and Le Pen. The wider French left decided not to scatter its votes self-defeatingly across minor candidates as it did in 2002. Royal showed courage under fire but still has much to prove to the people, and televised debates against Sarkozy before the second round will be crucial.
Francois Bayrou, 18.6%
Francois Bayrou has emerged as the potential kingmaker as the votes cast for him could determine the second round. A survey for pollsters CSA taken after the first round found 45 per cent of Bayrou voters would support Royal in the second round, with 39 per cent going to Sarkozy. He failed, despite an often brilliant campaign, to reach the second round but may have permanently changed the contours of French politics. His re-invention of "le sexy centre" was finally rejected. However, French voters love a battle-scarred loser. Bayrou, 55, will be a formidable contender in 2012 if the new president fails to boost France's economy and self-esteem.
Jean-Marie Le Pen, 10.5%
Jean-Marie Le Pen, the 78-year-old ultra-right firebrand who had a shock first-round victory in the 2002 elections, was yesterday consigned to the history books after his fifth, and probably final, attempt to win the French presidency. The fight for Le Pen's legacy will intensify. Challenger Bruno Megret broke with him to form his own party in 1998. Le Pen's daughter, Marine, may succeed him, or the party may pass to his number two, Bruno Gollnisch.
- INDEPENDENT , REUTERS
