Voters across France have begun casting ballots in a presidential run-off election that polls suggest will see Socialist challenger Francois Hollande defeat incumbent Nicolas Sarkozy after just one term.

Voters in France’s overseas territories have begun casting ballots for Nicolas Sarkozy or Francois Hollande in the presidential election.

Francois Hollande, a mild-mannered French Socialist who wants to take better care of the jobless and the poor, is heading to a presidential run-off election against tough-on-immigration Nicolas Sarkozy in a vote that could alter Europe’s political and economic landscape.

Socialist challenger Francois Hollande stamped his authority on the French presidential race yesterday, beating Nicolas Sarkozy in the first round of polling in which the far right also made major gains.

Centre-right French President Nicolas Sarkozy’s career was on the line today as voters turned out in solid numbers for the first round of France’s presidential election, a contest that could shake-up Europe’s political landscape and approach to myriad economic troubles.

At least 10 people were crushed to death and 85 injured when a huge tree was blown down during a freak storm in eastern France.

A five-year-old girl was injured in a mud slide that swept through her family’s apartment as heavy rains hammered southwestern France.