Battle heats up to woo centre in fight to lead France

The battle between French conservative Nicolas Sarkozy and Socialist Segolene Royal heated up today as their camps tried tactics to woo voters in the political centre – the key decision-makers in the presidential race.

Centrist candidate Francois Bayrou is no longer in the running, but his strong third-place showing in Sunday’s first round of balloting could make him a kingmaker if he throws his support behind the law-and-order former interior minister or to the leftist with a chance of being France’s first woman president.