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Sarkozy, Royal in presidential runoff

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PARIS, France (CNN) -- Right-wing candidate Nicolas Sarkozy and Socialist Segolene Royal began campaigning for the centrist vote Monday.

While the conservative Sarkozy holds an advantage over his socialist rival Royal, it won't be a "walk in the park" for Sarkozy even though he is in a strong position heading into the runoff, Bruno Cautres, researcher at the prestigious Institute for Political Sciences, told the Associated Press.

The two beat out centrist farmer's son and lawmaker Francois Bayrou, to advance to the second round of France's presidential election.

Sarkozy and Royal have different visions for France and have narrowed the vote to a choice between the hardliner former interior minister or the first woman with an honest chance at becoming the country's leader.

The race is now on for voters in the middle ground and others who deserted the left and right in favor of Bayrou, who placed third on Sunday ahead of Jen-Marie Le Pen, in one of the big surprises of the campaign. Both Sarkozy and Royal planned rallies Monday night to court centrist voters.

Sarkozy and Royal will face off in a televised debate on May 2, four days prior to the May 6 runoff vote, French channel TF1 reported.

Voter turnout on Sunday was higher than usual.

Sarkozy led with 31.11 percent of the votes, while Royal won 25.83 percent, according to partial returns from the French Interior Ministry.

Centrist Francois Bayrou, one of four main contenders, won 18.55 percent of the votes while far-right leader Jean-Marie Le Pen took 10.51 percent, according to the ministry.

Turnout estimates varied; the Interior Ministry reported 84.48 percent of France's 40 million voters cast ballots in Sunday's first-round vote. News services placed the turnout rate at 84.6 percent.

An IPSOS opinion poll released late on Sunday suggested Sarkozy would win 54 percent of votes in the second round and Royal would secure 46 percent.

Sarkozy told cheering supporters he wanted to rally the French people behind a "new dream." (Watch Sarkozy talking about his vision )

"My dear compatriots, I want only one thing: to gather the French people around a new French dream," he told supporters at his UMP party.

France must now choose between two visions of society in the second round, Sarkozy said.

"By placing me in the lead and Madame Royal in second position, (voters) clearly marked their wish to have a definitive debate on two ideas of the nation, two projects of society, two value systems," he said.

Sarkozy's dream was one of "a fraternal republic where no-one will be afraid."

"I want to say to all the French who are afraid, that I want to protect them against violence, against delinquency, against unfair competition, against outsourcing," the former interior minister said.

Royal called for voters to rally round her, promising to bring France change without upheaval. (Watch Royal's speech after the result was announced )

"I call on all those who ... believe it is possible to reform France without brutalizing it, who want a triumph of human values over the stock market, who want an end to the painful rise of insecurity and precariousness, to come together," she told a rally in central-western France.

"Many of us -- regardless of the first round -- do not want a France ruled by the law of the strongest or the most brutal, sewn-up by money interests, where all powers are concentrated in the same few hands.

"I reach out to all those who believe it is not only possible but urgent to break with a system that is no longer working," Royal said.

Fierce campaign

With incumbent Jacques Chirac standing down after 12 years in office, candidates have tried to assert their credentials as part of a new generation of politicians eager to reshape the troubled country's traditional ways of life.

The next president will inherit a nation on the brink of an economic crisis, struggling with national identity and coping with a poverty-stricken immigrant community still reeling from the 2005 youth riots.

If elected, Royal will become France's first woman president.

While she has run a non-traditional campaign based on family issues, Sarkozy, the son of immigrants, has appealed to right-wing voters by espousing tough policies on immigration.

Pundits expect Sarkozy to soften his image in pushing an agenda based on free-market ideas. Most believe Royal will try to convince middle-of-the-road voters she has the ability to salvage France's economic system while promising to safeguard the country's "social model."

The campaign has been fierce compared to previous presidential races, and the election buzz was inescapable on the streets of Paris, CNN's Jim Bittermann reported.

"Everywhere you go people are talking about the election," he said. "Every taxi driver, every news stand vendor is talking about the election and usually the first question is, what do you think is going to happen?"

Copyright 2007 CNN. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Associated Press contributed to this report.

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