Jospin enters presidential race

PARIS, France -- Prime Minister Lionel Jospin has confirmed his presidential candidacy with a pledge to "lead in a different way."

Jospin officially said on Wednesday he will challenge incumbent Jacques Chirac in elections to be held in April and May.

Socialist Jospin, 64, has long been expected to mount his bid but only after end of the present French parliament on Friday.

Jospin's low-key declaration in a two-page party statement was in stark contrast to that made at by Chirac in Avignon, southern France, last week.

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Conservative Chirac, 69, made a stage-managed announcement of his intention to run for a second-term at a public meeting of his Rally for the Republic party.

Latest opinion polls show the two rivals, who have shared power for five years in an uneasy "cohabitation," running almost neck-and-neck.

But voters have become annoyed that practical politics have been overshadowed by speculation about who would declare when.

The election will be held over two rounds on April 21 and May 5.

Jospin lost to Chirac in the last presidential election in 1995 but led the Socialist Party to victory in parliamentary elections in 1997.

"Today I am a candidate in the presidential election," Jospin said in a statement from his Paris home, saying his candidacy was "in the spirit of responsibility, the foundation of authority."

"We must lead in a different way," Jospin said. "We must have an active president, who gives strong direction and works with the government for its implementation."

Parliamentary elections will be held a month later on June 9 and 16.

No serving prime minister has ousted an incumbent president, and the onus is squarely on Jospin, who came to power unexpectedly in the early elections called by Chirac in 1997, to convince French voters that he has the right qualities.

Jospin, a former economics professor has insisted he be judged on his record, primarily his boast of bringing dole queues down to 18-year lows.

While flagship policies like the launch of the 35-hour week and limited devolution for the island of Corsica have run into difficulties, Socialist party aides are convinced there is still enough of a "feel-good" factor to see them home.

In his statement, Jospin set out five broad themes for his presidential platform: full employment, law and order, incomes and pensions reform, education and training and a drive to give Europe a stronger voice in the world.

"This is the time to make commitments and see them through. That, in my eyes, is the basis for the relationship of trust that should exist between citizens and their highest representative," Jospin said.

Chirac, accused by opponents of lacking clear policies during his years at the Elysee Palace, put law and order at the heart of his campaign in his first appearance of the campaign on Tuesday, accusing Jospin's government of squandering years of strong economic growth.

Chirac saw his re-election chances boosted in October when France's highest court ruled that as a sitting president he could not face a sleaze investigation in connection to his reign as Paris mayor in the 1980s and early 1990s.

While Chirac and Jospin stand out above all other candidates, both the presidential and parliamentary votes could yet be influenced by a host of lesser challengers.

A further 17 presidential candidates have declared their intention to stand.

The winner will sit for only five years instead of seven following a referendum in 2000.

In September 2000 French voters backed in a referendum the reduction of the presidential term from seven to five years.