.jpg)
.png)
Sarkozy headed for defeat as France goes to the polls
Polling stations in France opened on Sunday, as the electorate will decide whether to re-elect Nicolas Sarkozy or crown socialist Francois Hollande as president.
France will elect its new president today: Francois Hollande touted to overthrow Nicolas Sarkozy
Touted to be the 11th European leader to be swept from office, Nicolas Sarkozy will soon find out whether France will choose to elect its first Socialist president in 17 years.
It has been a tight race between Sarkozy and opponent Francois Hollande, who has held a steady lead for weeks ranging between four and eight points ahead in final opinion polls.
A member of Sarkozy's inner circle told Reuters: "He's like a runner [Sarkozy] - he won't consider it's over until the very end, but I'd say he has one chance in six."
More than 46 million voters are eligible to take part. Polling is to close at 8pm, followed immediately by initial results.
Media attention also focused on how the two rivals spent their day on Saturday: reportedly, Sarkozy spent Saturday in the privacy of his home in Paris with his wife Carla Bruni, a former supermodel, while Hollande and his partner Valerie Trierweiler, a journalist, were out shaking hands with supporters, signing autographs and sampling cheese and strawberries in rural France.
