A closely fought race between two women to become the new leader of France’s Socialist Party has ended in a dead heat, a senior party official said early today.

The leader of France’s extreme right National Front party Jean Marie Le Pen has achieved a stunning first round presidential election result forcing voters to choose between him and conservative incumbent Jacques Chirac.

The interior ministers of Germany and France want an urgent meeting with their colleagues across the EU to discuss how to prevent a repeat of the rioting that marred this weekend’s European summit in Sweden.