Paris — The top contenders in today's presidential contest in France have plenty to worry about. A record number of candidates and widespread voter apathy are threatening the prospects of rivals Prime Minister Lionel Jospin and President Jacques Chirac.
Polls have predicted that Jospin and Chirac would be the top finishers in the election's first round today. But both candidates may find they need to cut distasteful deals with political foes to win the second round of the presidential race, a May 5 runoff.
French President Jacques Chirac shakes hands with supporters while campaigning on the Mediterranean island of Corsica. Chirac is running for re-election in the two-round presidential elections being contested today and May 5.
Extremists also have gained ground amid the voter apathy and one could emerge as a surprise power broker. Among them are Arlette Laguiller of the hard left Worker's Struggle and Jean-Marie Le Pen of the far-right, National Front. Coming from opposites of the political spectrum, Laguiller and Le Pen have been battling in the polls for third place.
Laguiller has refused to endorse any other candidate in the runoff between the top two vote-getters today. And mainstream leftists are worried her supporters may refuse to vote on May 5 instead of supporting Jospin. On the right, extremist Le Pen, who has 14 percent in recent polls, is no fan of the French president Le Pen recently went on national television and called Chirac "not only a thief but also a liar."
In the last election, in 1995, the Socialists chose Jospin to oppose Chirac only after five others had to drop out for different reasons. Jospin ran well, losing a close race in the second round that drew 80 percent of voters.
This time around, however, the electorate is bored and pollsters predict that up to one-third of them could stay away from the ballot box.
Another indication of the discontent with the front-runners is the number of candidates who sprang seemingly from nowhere and managed to get the obligatory 500 endorsements from election officials needed to run.
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