Royal continued her offensive on the Conservative candidate Sarkozy and his track record as a Cabinet minister by telling RTL radio he did not dare visit disenchanted immigrant communities in the suburbs, unless escorted by hundreds of police. She suggested his brutal style of governance would lead to further social tensions in the country.
Known for his heavy handed policies on security and migration, Sarkozy suppressed riots in ethnically mixed suburbs in 2005, when he served as interior minister in Jacques Chirac's government. This made him a hugely unpopular figure with France's North African communities, with many feeling they were being treated like second-class citizens.
Socialist Royal, who could become France's first woman president if she wins Sunday's ballot, took a combative line in a live televised debate with Sarkozy Wednesday, prompting her rival to question if she was cool enough to run the country. She attacked him for not doing enough to provide better social care and public services for the French, and criticized his liberal economic agenda.
The Socialist leader made a good showing in the first round vote, garnering 25.9%. But public opinion polls suggest it is Sarkozy who will come out the winner in the runoff. The Conservative collected 31.2% on April 22, and the May 2 televised debate with Royal pushed his approval rating higher.
A public opinion poll released by the TNS Sofres agency Friday gave Sarkozy as much as 54.5%, compared with 45.5% for Royal. An IPSOS rating showed him at 54%, against 46% for his left-wing opponent. And a CSA-Cisco survey commissioned by Le Parisien daily suggested the Conservative frontrunner will collect 53%.
Royal will spend the final day of the election campaign trying to win undecided voters in the northwestern city of Brest while Sarkozy will be rallying in the Alpine region of Haute Savoie, in France's south.
Each hopes to secure the support of voters who cast their ballots for centrist leader Francois Bayrou in the first round.
Bayrou, who finished a strong third in the April 22 vote, said he personally would not vote for Sarkozy in the runoff, but stopped short of advising his supporters, split between the two finalists, whether to vote Conservative or Socialist.
