In the latest presidential debate on French TV, Bayrou made his pitch, writes colin randall |
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Francois Bayrou, the centrist candidate seeking to create an upset in the French presidential election, is set to maintain his rise in the polls after dominating the last of a series of live TV debates.
The 55-year-old father of six, a devout Roman Catholic (right) known as the horse whisperer because of his farming interests, invoked Charles de Gaulle as he called for an era of national unity breaking the "perpetual warfare" between left and right.
"It's not a soft option," he said on last night's peak-time programme, shared with three other minor candidates. "General de Gaulle imposed unity in 1958 and straightened out the country in a few months. That's the course I have set for myself."
Latest polls give Bayrou clear 'Third Man' status with 17 per cent of the vote, reinforcing his slow but sure progress. One recent survey even suggested he could beat |
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| A poll suggested Bayrou could beat the leading contenders if he defied the odds and made it to the second round |
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the leading contenders, right-winger Nicolas Sarkozy and Socialist Segolene Royal, if he defied the odds and made it to the second round.
Another poll put Bayrou and his wife, Elisabeth, second behind the Sarkozys - but ahead of Royal and her partner, Socialist party chairman Francois Hollande - as the couple the French believe would best represent their nation at the Elysee Palace.
As for last night's performance, just under 6.7m viewers watched the Bayrou portion of the show, well below the 8 million-plus audiences for the Sarkozy and Royal broadcasts, but considered highly respectable for a minority challenger.
Bayrou hopes to capitalise on widespread disaffection with the two main parties, which he accuses of threatening to add €10bn (£6.7bn) to the public spending burden with every major policy pledge. He said he had no fears about tackling France's national debt, nor did he have any problem with the prospect of serving as president without a parliamentary majority for his party. 
FIRST POSTED FEBRUARY 27, 2007
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