French left votes for its presidential champion
Left-leaning French voters headed back to the polls yesterday to decide whether Francois Hollande or Martine Aubry should take on Nicolas Sarkozy in next year's presidential election.
Whichever of the pair wins the Socialist Party nomination will immediately become the frontrunner in the race, as polls show the centre-right incumbent trailing either in April and May's two-round contest.
The vote is also France's first US-style open primary -- any elector who says he or she supports the ideals of the left can vote -- and a big turnout could serve as a springboard for the campaign proper.
Last Sunday, a bigger than expected 2.66 million voters turned out for the first round, which was won by 57-year-old lawmaker and former party leader Hollande, with only a narrow nine-point lead over Aubry.
Voting in the southwestern town Tulle, in his rural constituency, Hollande predicted an even bigger turnout, dubbing this a "good sign".
"The bigger the turnout, the clearer our victory will be and the greater our candidate's chance of winning in 2012. It is an important moment, a serious one, even if it's not the final moment. That will be May 6, 2012."
Hollande has won the backing of the four defeated first round candidates, and entered the run-off as favourite, but Aubry mounted a tough fightback this week, branding him a soft centrist without the steel to defeat Sarkozy.
Aubry, 61, the former labour minister who gave France is 35-hour working week, has also attacked Hollande's lack of executive experience -- he has never served at cabinet level.
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