François Hollande has taken the lead in the first round of France’s presidential elections, facing a run-off with Nicolas Sarkozy after a vote that produced a record showing for the far right National Front.
After a bitter campaign marked by opposing visions of how to steer France’s struggling economy through the eurozone crisis, the Socialist challenger won 27.5 per cent of the votes, according to an Ipsos exit poll that was among several broadly matching projections released at the close of voting yesterday evening.
Mr Sarkozy, who is seeking to avoid adding his name to the string of European incumbents swept aside since the start of the sovereign debt crisis, secured 26.6 per cent support.
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