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The first round of France's presidential election was held April 22 with center-right Nicolas Sarkozy coming in first and the Socialists' Segolene Royal placing second. However, neither candidate received the majority necessary to secure the office, so a second round will be held May 6.

All of the left candidates combined received only 37 percent of the vote in the first round, compared to about 45 percent for the combined right. This left Royal at a profound disadvantage and forced her to court the center aggressively at the risk of alienating the hard left. In the second round, Sarkozy is the man to beat unless there is a change in circumstances.

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