Fight for the right (in France): Sarkozy's bid to win Le Pen's people

[pampango]

Marine Le Pen yesterday tore up her presidential campaign – or at least her standard stump speech. From now on, she told a cheering audience supporters in Strasbourg, it would be "back to basics": immigration, immigration, insecurity, love of country and immigration.

The far right leader, running a strong third in the polls for this spring's French presidential, has been campaigning on a bouillabaisse of ultra-nationalist, social and leftist issues. From this week, she will face a challenge from a "new" candidate who plans to out-shout her on the unashamed themes and "values of the Right": "national identity", "order" "discipline", "family" and immigration. His name is Nicolas Sarkozy.

He will crusade on "Christian" or "Judeo-Christian" values and identity and oppose Mr. Hollande's (the Socialist candidate) ideas for gay marriage and local votes for foreigners.

This right-wing strategy, outlined in an interview in Le Figaro on Saturday, has angered some Sarkozy supporters, and potential ones, in the centre or centre-right. They criticised the president's approach yesterday as "dangerous" and "self-defeating" and a "surrender" of the centre ground needed to win the two-candidate, second-round, run-off on 6 May.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/fight-for-the-right-sarkozys-bid-to-win-le-pens-people-6804844.html

Sounds like Sarkozy plans to run to the far-right in campaigning leading up to the first round of the presidential election in an effort to out-poll Le Pen and finish in the top 2 so that he can advance to the final round. Then he will try to tack back to the center to defeat the Socialist, Hollande. Sounds like a typical republican.