Sarkozy leads French presidential polls

Nicolas Sarkozy, buoyed by his weekend nomination as the French right’s presidential candidate and by rifts in his rival’s camp, edged out Socialist Segolene Royal in a poll released today.

For weeks polls have shown the two front-runners enjoying equal support among voters ahead of the April and May presidential vote, seen as key for a nation discouraged and hungry for new leadership.

A poll by CSA published today in the daily Parisien shows Sarkozy gaining an slight advantage: 30% of respondents said they would vote for him in the first round of voting and 29% named Royal.

Far right leader Jean-Marie Le Pen – who surprised pollsters and shocked France and Europe by coming in second place behind President Jacques Chirac in the last election in 2002 – would earn 15% of the vote, the poll said.

In a run-off, Sarkozy’s lead would grow, the poll suggested, with 52% of respondents saying Sarkozy was the candidate they would most likely vote for in a second round, compared to Royal’s 48%.

The leading contenders are still quite close, however, taking into account a 3% margin of error for a poll.

The tough-talking interior minister, who has pledged to free up France’s economy, was the only candidate for the nomination and has long been considered a top presidential contender. But Sunday’s big-budget nomination bash gave new impetus to his campaign.

Meanwhile, Royal has hit bumps in her bid to become France’s first woman president.

Royal, who got a head start on Sarkozy with her nomination two months ago, clashed last week with the Socialist Party boss – father of her four children - over his proposals for a tax hike, and both have come under fire for revelations about their wealth.

Many leftists fear the fiercely independent Royal is straying too far from party lines and could threaten France’s social protections.