Current French President Nicolas Sarkozy and Socialist challenger François Hollande will go head-to-head in a live debate on national television Wednesday evening.
Sarkozy is generally considered to be the stronger debater, and with just four days to go before the country goes to the polls, the TV battle looks to be his last real chance to make a dent in Hollande’s lead in the opinion polls.
The debate, which traditionally takes place on the Wednesday before the final round of the country's presidential election, is seen as the climax of the campaign.
Taking its format from similar political debates in the US, the face-off between the leading candidates has been a fixture of French presidential elections since 1974, with the exception of 2002, when Jacques Chirac refused to go head-to-head with far-right candidate Jean-Marie Le Pen.
But even if Sarkozy is able to come out stronger during the debate, history is not on his side: past presidential debates have rarely influenced the outcome of elections. » | Charlotte Oberti | Wednesday, May 02, 2012
FRANCE 24: Le débat télévisé, point d'orgue de la course à l'Élysée: Ce mercredi à 21 heures, François Hollande et Nicolas Sarkozy croiseront le fer lors du traditionnel débat télévisé de l’entre-deux-tours de l'élection présidentielle. Une bataille médiatique dont chacun veut sortir vainqueur. » | Charlotte Oberti | mercredi 02 mai 2012
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