Rivals rush to back Chirac to keep Le Pen out

Defeated French presidential hopefuls on both left and right are endorsing Jacques Chirac for the second-round vote.

It is part of a concerted effort to keep power out of the hands of extreme right leader Jean-Marie Le Pen.

Chirac, a conservative, and the anti-immigrant Le Pen will face each other in the run-off vote on May 5.

Le Pen's second-place finish in the first round dealt a blow to Socialist Prime Minister Lionel Jospin, who came in third.

Now, a few defeated candidates have asked backers to transfer their support to Chirac - a request that, for some, would once have been unimaginable.

"We're facing a choice that could be considered impossible," Green Party candidate Noel Mamere told supporters. "To block the extreme right, we must resolve to vote Chirac in the second round."

"We have a responsibility to society, I'm ready to admit that clearly to you," Mamere said.

Jean-Pierre Chevenement, a former Socialist known for supporting traditional values, was another candidate who urged that France should not be abandoned to Le Pen's party.

After the surprise upset by Le Pen, 73, leader of the anti-immigration National Front, spontaneous demonstrations broke out in cities across France.

About 10,000 people protested in Paris alone, with some waving signs that read "I'm ashamed to be French."