Francois Hollande beats Nicolas Sarkozy in first round of elections

FAR-right presidential candidate Marine Le Pen staged one of the biggest upsets in post-war French politics last night, scoring nearly 20 per cent in the first round as the stage was set for a run-off between between Socialist favourite Francois Hollande and conservative president Nicolas Sarkozy, the former of whom narrowly beat the incumbent after 99 per cent of votes were counted

Mr Hollande beat Mr Sarkozy by about 28.6 per cent to 27.1 per cent, meaning the two will meet in a head-to-head decider on 6 May that may be closer than had been expected.

But Ms Le Pen’s record score of 18.0per cent was the sensation of the night, beating her father’s 2002 result and outpolling hard leftist Jean-Luc Melenchon in fourth place.

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It was the first time a sitting president seeking re-election had been beaten into second place in the first round. But Sarkozy backers at his campaign headquarters chanted “We are going to win”, interpreting Ms Le Pen’s score as more significant than Mr Hollande’s narrow lead over the incumbent.

Before voting, opinion polls had suggested a comfortable win for the Socialist in the second round.

Ms Le Pen, who took over the anti-immigration National Front in 2011, wants jobs reserved for French nationals at a time when jobless claims are at a 12-year high. She also wants France to abandon the euro currency and restore monetary policy to Paris.

“This first round is the start of a vast gathering of right-wing patriots,” she told cheering supporters at her campaign headquarters, without endorsing either of the finalists. “Nothing will ever be the same again.”

Her unexpectedly high score reflected a surge in anti-establishment populist parties in many eurozone countries from the Netherlands to Greece as austerity and the debt crisis bite.

Jean-Marie Le Pen, visibly elated at his daughter’s result, said the National Front would now focus on winning seats in June parliamentary elections. “There is a lot of hope for us,” he told France 2 television as party supporters shouted “Victory!”

Voter surveys show about half of Ms Le Pen’s supporters would back Mr Sarkozy in a second round and perhaps one fifth would vote for Mr Hollande, making her a potential kingmaker in the run-off.

“Nothing is in the bag yet,” said foreign minister Alain Juppé, one of Mr Sarkozy’s closest aides.

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The elder Le Pen’s 16.9 per cent score in the 2002 first round caused a political earthquake, knocking then Socialist prime minister Lionel Jospin out of the run-off and forcing left-wing voters to rally behind conservative Jacques Chirac.

Mr Sarkozy, 57, has painted himself as the safest pair of hands to lead France and the eurozone in turbulent times, but yesterday’s vote appeared to be a strong rejection of his flashy style and economic record.

If Mr Hollande wins on 6 May, joining a small minority of left-wing governments in Europe, he has promised to lead a push for a bigger focus on growth in the eurozone, mainly by adding pro-growth clauses to a European budget discipline treaty.

Mr Melenchon, whose clench-fisted call for an anti-capitalist revolution made him the most colourful figure on the campaign trail, called on left-wing voters to fight back and make sure Mr Sarkozy is kicked out next month.

“I call on you to come out on 6 May and beat Sarkozy without asking for anything in exchange. I urge you: don’t drag your heels, mobilise as though it were me you were sending to victory in the presidential election,” he said.

If Mr Sarkozy loses, he would be the 11th eurozone leader to be swept out since the start of the bloc’s debt crisis in late 2009 and the first French president to lose a re-election bid in more than 30 years. A deep dislike of a personal style seen as arrogant and vulgar drove many to vote against him.

Mr Hollande, 57, promises less drastic spending cuts than Mr Sarkozy proposed and wants higher taxes on the wealthy to fund state-aided job creation, in particular a 75 per cent upper tax rate on income above €1 million.

If he wins, he would be only France’s second Left-wing leader since the founding of the Fifth Republic in 1958.

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Mr Hollande called on his supporters to take nothing for granted, mindful of the fiasco for the left in 2002 when record abstention saw the Socialist Jospin pushed out in the first round by the elder Le Pen.

Turnout ended up at a healthy 80.2 per cent; the first round in the 2007 vote saw a record 83.8 per cent vote.

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