Sarkozy-Royal Matchup?

The Telegraph is citing exit poll results that appear to show that Nicolas Sarkozy and Ségolène Royal will be the two contenders for the office of president of France. These are only exit poll results, however, so that is subject to change if they prove unreliable.

While the final running order was still unclear, there was little doubt that the two other top contenders, François Bayrou, the centrist leader of the UDF party, and far-Right leader Jean-Marie Le Pen, were no longer in contention. A CSA poll gave Mr Bayrou from 16-20 per cent and Mr Le Pen from 11-16 per cent.

At a projected 87 per cent, voter turnout was the highest in the history of the Fifth French republic, smashing the previous record of 84 per cent in 1965 for the election of Charles de Gaulle.

The sky high figure reflected France’s renewed passion for politics after a gripping campaign to usher in a new generation of political leaders at a time when France is wracked with doubts over its future.

It also appeared to be the result of publicity campaigns telling people to vote. The result heralds the promise of a true showdown between an uninhibited Right, offering relatively liberal reforms, and an emphasis on work and meritocracy, and a Left offering a real change in leadership style while seeking to preserve at all costs the generous “French social model.”

This is really the expected outcome; pretty much everyone predicted these two would be the finalists in the process. Now it will come down to who can woo the supporters of the failed candidates more, especially if the actual voting results are very close between Sarkozy and Royal.