Originally published by the Voice of America (www.voanews.com).
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May 6, 2007

French Voters Choose New President Sunday
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http://enews.voanews.com/t?ctl=175B616:A6F02AD83191E1609B693AAA74F7FC5D9574F7DCC14957C0 runoff election
will decide successor to Jacques Chirac, who is retiring after 12
years in office





Nicolas Sarkozy and Segolene Royal

France is voting Sunday for a successor to outgoing President Jacques
Chirac.  The run-off election pits two candidates that represent
starkly different visions for the country.  Many said they did not
like either choice and considered spoiling their ballot. Anita Elash
reports from Paris.  Pollings stations across France were busy today,
and in some places people lined up even before the polls opened.







A French woman waits to cast her ballot for the second round of the
presidential election at a polling station in Paris, Sunday, 6 May
2007  Voters are choosing between two starkly different candidates.
Conservative Nicolas Sarkozy, wants to restore French national
identity and is proposing tough reforms to boost the faltering
economy.  Socialist candidate Segolene Royal has proposed left-wing
economic policies and a program for what she calls "change without
brutality."                    

The latest polls predict Sarkozy will win with a clear majority.  But
many voters said they did not like either choice.  One man in downtown
Paris said he chose Sarkozy, but said he found neither candidate
convincing and considered spoiling his ballot as a protest.

"One of the two candidates has shown really lack of expertise and as
to the other the program may have been a little bit more concrete but
I have a lot of suspicion as to, let's say, her personal honesty," a
voter says. For most of the campaign, Royal and Sarkozy were courteous
to each other, but in the past few days the attacks became more
personal.  Royal said Sarkozy was a dangerous choice and that his
election would lead to riots in multi-ethnic suburbs, where he is
despised. Sarkozy said Royal was desperate.

Extra police have been deployed in the regions around Paris to
maintain security after a winner is announced. 




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