French presidential candidates make last pitches

Presidential hopefuls in the first round of France's election are making their final pitches today, the last day of campaigning before Sunday's vote, and polls show a close race between the front-runners President Nicholas Sarkozy and socialist candidate Francois Hollande.

With no campaigning allowed the day before elections, Hollande held a rally in Bordeaux, while Sarkozy was due to campaign in Nice.

Both men are desperate to lure large numbers of undecided and apathetic potential voters. Sarkozy is also hoping to siphon off votes from the far-right National Front party.

Hollande has promised to balance France's budget by 2017 and impose a 75 per cent tax for the super rich. He has also said he would be a "modest" president, in contrast to Sarkozy, who has said any victory for Hollande would spark a massive crisis of confidence in the French economy.

The economy has been the focus of campaigning, with France feeling the pinch from the eurozone crisis and unemployment now at a 12-year high. Promises from the two leading candidateson how they will balance the budget books may well provekey tohow people vote on Sunday.

The latest polling has Holland running neck and neck with Sarkozy in the 10-candidate first-round balloting, but Hollande is expected to win a second-round run-off vote on May 6.

The far-right candidate, Marine le Pen, could take about 17 per cent of the vote in the first round.

Jean-Luc Melenchon of the Left Front party is also expected to perform relatively well Sunday. On Friday, he said France should reach out to China, and resist U.S. hegemony.