/ 4 May 2007

France’s Royal warns of violence if Sarkozy wins

France risks violence and brutality if right-wing front-runner Nicolas Sarkozy wins Sunday’s presidential election, Socialist opponent Ségolène Royal said on Friday.

On the last day of official campaigning, opinion polls showed Sarkozy enjoyed a commanding lead over Royal, who accused the former interior minister of lying and polarising France.

”I think that choosing Nicolas Sarkozy would be a dangerous choice. I do not want France to shift towards a system of brutality,” Royal told RTL radio.

Royal went on the offensive during a fiery television debate between the two on Wednesday night when Sarkozy, portrayed as ruthlessly ambitious by his opponents, questioned whether she was cool enough to become France’s first woman president.

Sarkozy’s performance buttressed his lead in the polls and a TNS Sofres poll published on Friday showed him at 54,5%, compared with 45,5% for the Socialist. An Ipsos poll put him on 54% against 46% for Royal.

A senior Royal aide conceded the situation was serious.

”I have said that if the difference between Sarkozy and Royal was more than 5 points, the second round would be difficult,” Royal’s adviser, Julien Dray, told RFI radio.

”We will have to wait and see what is happening at the polls on Sunday and draw the consequences afterwards.”

Analysts say a fresh defeat for the Socialists, who have not held the presidency since Francois Mitterrand retired in 1995, could spark a crisis in the party, which has not undergone the painful reforms of other European leftist parties.

Violence

Royal warned of potential violence in France’s ethnically mixed suburbs if her rival won and she said he was unable to enter some areas for fear of sparking violence. The suburbs were hit by riots in 2005, the worst in 40 years.

Sarkozy has portrayed himself as a tough crime-buster but Royal said street violence had risen recently

”When a candidate has so much nerve to tell lies and counter-truths and cannot even go everywhere in the country, then yes, I think this candidature is a risk.”

Sarkozy laughed off her comments.

”She’s not in a good mood this morning. It must be the opinion polls,” he told Europe 1 radio.

In an interview with Le Parisien daily, Royal said Sarkozy was imitating the techniques of United States President George Bush, who is reviled by many French.

”[Sarkozy] carries the same neo-conservative ideology. He doesn’t hesitate to envisage dismantling public services, when we badly need nurses and teachers.”

Campaigning must end at midnight on Friday ahead of voting in some of France’s overseas territories on Saturday.

The rest of the nation will vote on Sunday. France has 44,5-million registered voters.

The election marks a generational shift for France with conservative Jacques Chirac (74) retiring after 12 years in power. Sarkozy and Royal are in their early 50s and for the first time in a presidential run-off, neither candidate has served as head of state or prime minister. — Reuters