IHT: Sarkozy struggles to maintain momentum in French campaign

"PARIS: Nicolas Sarkozy, the conservative front-runner in the French presidential contest, concentrated Thursday on keeping his campaign on track after being hammered by a man he had defeated and watching as his real rival, Ségolène Royal, appeared to gain energy.

In a fast-moving race, François Bayrou, the centrist who came in third in the first round of voting Sunday, has managed to do what Royal failed to accomplish by herself: Make Sarkozy, who appeared virtually unassailable as the first-round results came in, look less strong and even vulnerable.

Sarkozy accused Bayrou on Thursday of "contesting the choice of the people" by agreeing to debate Royal, a Socialist, before the May 6 runoff. He denounced efforts to organize a Bayrou-Royal debate as "a somewhat ridiculous tragi-comedy" and declared that the only debate that counted was the one that he would have with Royal on May 2.

His comments followed a speech Wednesday in which Bayrou denounced Sarkozy as a man "with a taste for intimidation and threats" whose "thirst for power" put French democracy at risk. "

http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/04/26/news/france.php