Sarkozy loses first poll battle
French President Nicolas Sarkozy faces an uphill struggle in the second round of the presidential election, after coming second in Sunday’s first vote.
He won 27.1% of the vote, while his Socialist rival Francois Hollande took 28.6%, the first time a sitting president has lost in the first round.
The two men will face each other in a second round of voting on 6 May.
Third-place Marine Le Pen took the largest share of the vote her far-right National Front has ever won, with 18%.
The BBC’s Christian Fraser in Paris says Mr Hollande’s narrow victory in this round gives him crucial momentum ahead of the run-off in two weeks’ time.
Video commentary by Fareed Zakaria after the jump.
It has been 17 years since France had a president from the left, but that might be about to change.
Francois Hollande, a candidate from the center-left Socialist Party, has significant momentum after edging center-right incumbent Nicolas Sarkozy in the first round of France’s presidential election on Sunday. If he wins a May 6 runoff against Sarkozy, Hollande would be the first left-wing president since Francois Mitterrand in 1995.
Sarkozy is seeking his second five-year term, following Jacques Chirac, who served 12 years in office. Sarkozy received 27.2% of the vote in the first round of voting on Sunday, just behind Hollande’s 28.6%.
As the French prepare for the runoff, here are a few key points to keep in mind…
