A poll in today's Le Figaronewspaper indicated Mr Jacques Chirac will beat far-right rival Mr Jean-Marie Le Pen by a massive margin in the second round of the presidential vote.
The poll says Mr Chirac would win 79 per cent of the vote and Le Pen would receive 21 per cent. The survey of 1,012 registered voters was conducted between April 30th and May 2nd by the Ipsos polling agency. No margin of error was given.
Mr Chirac today codemned the anti-European platform of Mr Le Pen, saying it would isolate the country and damage its economy. Mr Chirac appealed to voters from across the political spectrum to back him against the anti-immigrant, anti-Europe views of Le Pen in Sunday's final round of the presidential vote.
"The program I offer, I firmly believe, is in interests of all French, not French from the right or the left," he said.
Mr Chirac and Mr Le Pen have held their final campaign rallies before a final round of voting on Sunday.
An unexpectedly low turnout of around 3,000 supporters greeted Mr Le Pen for his final campaign rally in Marseille. The National Front leader thanked the rain-sodden, cheering crowd in for the support that carried him to a second round runoff against the conservative RPR's Mr Chirac.
"Paris is the heart of France, but Marseille is the heart of the National Front," he told them.
Mr Chirac held a final campaign rally that drew about 20,000 supporters. The conservative president urged them to "choose the republican ideal over the far-right". He said he had heard the concerns of a "troubled nation" but said the far-right would only sow division.
AP