Reuters: Most Read Articles: French presidential rivals in last ditch TV debate

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French presidential rivals in last ditch TV debate May 1st 2012, 22:19 1 of 3. A two-way combo shows the names of the presidential candidates on the eve of the televised debate for the 2012 French presidential election campaign at television studios in La Plaine Saint-Denis near Paris, on the eve of the televised debate for the 2012 French presidential election campaign between Nicolas Sarkozy, France's President and UMP party candidate for his re-election, and Francois Hollande, the Socialist party candidate, May 1, 2012. Credit: Reuters/Franck Fife/Pool By Catherine Bremer and Emmanuel Jarry PARIS | Tue May 1, 2012 6:19pm EDT PARIS (Reuters) - Nicolas Sarkozy faces Francois Hollande in a "moment of truth" television debate on Wednesday that could be the French president's last chance to avoid defeat at the hands of his socialist challenger in Sunday's election runoff. The conservative president and his centre-left rival have been at each other's throats for months, with Sarkozy accusing Hollande of being incompetent and a liar and Hollande calling the incumbent a "failed president" and "a nasty piece of work". Trailing Hollande despite an aggressive campaign, Sarkozy will throw everything into a two and a half hour verbal duel with the Socialist who, despite his bland manner, is a nimble debater himself. "It's not a contest of words, it's a moment of truth," Sarkozy told journalists this week, as an aide let slip to Reuters that the incumbent will spend most of Wednesday holed up at home preparing for the battle of his life. "Sarkozy needs to swing 1.5 million people to his side. It won't be easy but that doesn't mean it's impossible," Bernard Sananes, head of the CSA polling institute, told BFM TV. Blamed for the country's economic problems and widely disliked because of his brash personal style, Sarkozy is the most unpopular president to run for re-election and the first in modern history to lose a first-round vote to a challenger. He began campaigning weeks after the more plodding Hollande, vowing to boost industrial competitiveness, hold referendums on policy, crack down on tax exiles and make the unemployed retrain if they wanted to receive benefits. More recently, he vowed to slash immigration, claimed Hollande would drive France towards economic catastrophe and threatened to pull out of Europe's border-free Schengen zone unless European Union borders are strengthened. Hollande enjoys a six to 10 point lead for the May 6 runoff, and far-right leader Marine Le Pen on Tuesday refused to endorse Sarkozy, instead telling her six million voters to make their own choice. Still, a daily opinion poll by Ifop showed a narrowing of Hollande's lead to seven points on Tuesday from 10 points the day after the first-round vote. The debate comes as the race has been clouded by mudslinging and sleaze allegations, with Sarkozy filing a lawsuit against a news website that alleged Muammar Gaddafi's government sought to fund his 2007 campaign. POLITICAL BRAWLER A formidable political brawler, Sarkozy is convinced he can still swing things in his favor on Wednesday evening by portraying Hollande as lacking in experience and economic credibility. He has tried to depict Hollande as cowardly for turning down his challenge to hold two extra debates. "Sarkozy is very combative, very pugnacious. He can be quite hard with his interlocutors and Hollande has to avoid being seen to be browbeaten," said Christopher Bickerton, an associate professor of international relations at the Sciences Po university. Twenty TV cameras will scrutinize the two rivals from every angle as they sit 2.5 meters (8 feet) apart across a table. The two sides have agreed on logistical details down to the temperature of the TV studio - between 19 and 20 degrees Celsius (66-68 Fahrenheit) and chairs that can be adjusted for height. The debate starts at 9 p.m. (1900 GMT) and, monitored by a large wall clock, must not run over 2 hours and 30 minutes. Sarkozy and Hollande both deny having trained with coaches or held dress rehearsals with stand-in sparring partners. They have come face to face several times in the past, most notably in a 1999 debate on Europe. "I have no coach, just myself," Hollande said on Tuesday. "It's not a boxing match or a wrestling match." Sarkozy - who has betrayed the stress he is under by seeming irritable and aggressive in some recent appearances - intends to "flush" the seemingly unflappable Hollande "out of the woods", an aide told French media this week. The only debate considered to have swung a tight French election was in 1974, when Valery Giscard d'Estaing emerged stronger for hitting Francois Mitterrand with the snub: "You do not have the monopoly of the heart". (Additional reporting by John Irish, Pauline Mevel and Elizabeth Pineau; Editing by Giles Elgood) Link this Share this Digg this Email Reprints

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