French presidential rivals clash in TV debate
French President Nicolas
Sarkozy and Socialist Francois Hollande clashed repeatedly in their only
television debate but the conservative incumbent failed to land a knockout blow
to shake his challenger's lead for Sunday's runoff.Hollande, ahead in opinion
polls by six to 10 points, seemed calm and unflappable during the nearly
three-hour debate today while Sarkozy, struggling to catch up with the moderate
social democrat, was often agitated and tense.Political commentators said the
confrontation was no game-changer and probably only reinforced voters' opinions
of their two champions in a contest that has been as much about style and
personality as substance."This debate should not shift things and as Francois
Hollande is in the position of favourite, he's the one that should
benefit," said analyst Jerome Fourquet at pollster Ifop.French television
commentators concluded that Sarkozy had performed "like a boxer" and
Hollande "like a judo fighter", using touches of wit and
interjections to unbalance his adversary.Hollande, 57, was confident and
relaxed in early exchanges, saying he aimed to be "the president of
justice", "the president of revival" and "the president of
unity".He said Sarkozy, also 57 and in office since 2007, had divided the
French people for too long and was using the global economic crisis as an
excuse for broken promises. "With you it's very simple: it's never your
fault," Hollande said.Sarkozy, fighting for his political life, repeatedly
accused his opponent of lying about economic figures and reeled off reams of
statistics in an attempt to unbalance his rival."Mr Hollande. When you lie
so shamelessly, do I have to accept it?" he asked when his opponent said
the president was always happy with his record.The two sparred over Europe,
which has become one of the biggest issues of the election race, along with the
sickly economy, rife unemployment, nuclear power and immigration."The
example I want to follow is Germany and not Spain or Greece," Sarkozy said, declaring that
he and German Chancellor Angela Merkel had saved Greece from an economic wipeout and
avoided the collapse of the euro currency."Europe has got over it," Sarkozy said
of the crisis.Hollande shot back: "Europe has not got over it. Europe is today facing a possible
resurgence of the crisis with generalised austerity, and that's what I don't
want."Hollande, who vowed to push for a new focus on growth to allow the
euro zone to convalesce, said people across Europe were watching the election in
the hope it would change the bloc's economic direction for the better.The
conservative head of state and his centre-left rival have duelled at a distance
for months, with Sarkozy accusing Hollande of being incompetent and a liar, and
Hollande branding the incumbent a "failed president" and "a
nasty piece of work".Sarkozy, being punished for rife unemployment and a
brash manner, is the most unpopular president to run for re-election. He was
the first in recent history to lose a first-round vote, with Hollande
benefitting from the anti-incumbent sentiment that has swept 11 euro zone
leaders from office since 2009.Today's duel was carried live on channels that
reach roughly half France's 44.5 million voters. The streets of Paris were unusually deserted with many
people staying home to watch.A handful of opinion polls due to land before
Friday evening will measure any impact."It threw into sharper relief the
strengths and weaknesses of both candidates: a tough-talking and often
condescending Sarkozy determined to pick holes ... and a milder-mannered yet
feisty MrHollande," said London analyst Nicholas Spiro. "There
was no knock-out blow or major slip-up on either side."Sarkozy suffered a
setback on Tuesday when far-right leader Marine Le Pen - whose 17.9% score was
the surprise of the first round - refused to endorse him. She vowed at a Paris
rally to cast a blank vote and told her supporters to make their own choice,
focusing most of her attacks on Sarkozy.The issue of how to deal with the
anti-immigration crusader and her supporters has tormented Sarkozy's UMP party
all week, as a TNS Sofres opinion poll found a third of voters agreed with the
National Front's positions.The candidates tangled on immigration in the debate,
with Sarkozy attacking Hollande's proposal to give long-term, non-European
foreign residents the right to vote in local elections.Sarkozy began
campaigning weeks after the more plodding Hollande, vowing to boost industrial
competitiveness, hold referendums on contentious policies, crack down on tax
exiles and make the unemployed retrain as a condition for receiving
benefits.More recently, seeking to court the 6.4 million National Front voters,
he has vowed to cut immigration and threatened to pull out of Europe's Schengen
zone of passport-free travel unless the European Union's external borders are
strengthened.Recent polls show Hollande with a slightly tighter but still
comfortable lead. A BVA survey today put the gap 1 point narrower at 7 points,
with the rivals at 53.5 and 46.5%.
