Hollande, Sarkozy set to advance to French runoff elections

Right-wing candidate Marine Le Pen comes in a surprising third

22 April 2012, 9:58 pm

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French President and UMP candidate Nicolas Sarkozy and his wife Carla Bruni-Sarkozy exit the voting booth as they prepare to cast their votes in the first round of French presidential elections in Paris, Sunday (photo credit: AP Photo/Eric Feferberg)

PARIS (AP) — Socialist Francois Hollande and conservative President Nicolas Sarkozy are heading for a runoff in their race for France’s presidency, according to partial official results in a vote that could alter the European political and economic landscape.

French voters defied expectations and handed a surprisingly strong third-place showing to anti-immigrant, anti-Muslim candidate Marine Le Pen, the partial results indicated. That could boost her influence on the French political scene, hand her party seats in parliament and affect relations with minorities in France and in other European countries.

Ten candidates faced off for Sunday’s first round of voting, a referendum on the divisive incumbent Sarkozy at a time when many French voters are worried about high joblessness and weak economic prospects. The top two vote-getters head to a runoff May 6.

With half of the vote counted, Hollande had 27.6 percent of ballots cast and Sarkozy 26.6 percent, according to figures released by the Interior Ministry after final polls closed.

Le Pen was in third with 19.7 percent of the vote so far. In fourth place was leftist firebrand Jean-Luc Melenchon with 10.6 percent, followed by centrist Francois Bayrou with 9.2 percent and five other candidates with minimal support.

In an auditorium at Sarkozy’s campaign headquarters, a boisterous crowd first gasped at the result shown on big-screen televisions, then a bit of a moan and then loud cheers despite Sarkozy’s second-place showing.

Hollande’s score, “is very good. That’s a very good score in the first round, especially if you are not an incumbent,” said Socialist lawmaker and Hollande supporter Aurelie Filippetti.

Le Pen, predicting a first-round surprise, said in an interview last week with The Associated Press that she would consider it a victory if she matched the first-round score of her father, National Front founder Jean-Marie Le Pen, in 2002. That year, he got nearly 16.8 percent of the vote and was propelled into the final round and a face-off with then-President Jacques Chirac.

Florian Philippot, strategic director of Le Pen’s campaign, called her score on Sunday a “very, very beautiful victory” with a long-term impact.

“I think tonight Marine Le Pen becomes chief of the opposition,” he said on BFM TV. “Nicolas Sarkozy is already gone.”

Far leftist Melenchon said, “our people appear well determined to turn the page of Nicolas Sarkozy.”