Hollande overcomes Sarkozy in French poll

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.

As expected, Hollande and the wounded right-wing incumbent will now face off in a May 6 run-off for the presidency, but the big surprise of the night was the record score for anti-immigrant, anti-EU flag-bearer Marine Le Pen.

Hollande won between 28% and 29% of the vote in the first round, to Sarkozy’s 25.5% to 27%, according to estimates compiled from ballot samples by several polling agencies and obtained by AFP from multiple sources.