PARIS, March 31 (Xinhua) -- Nicolas Sarkozy, candidate for the ruling Union for a Popular Movement (UMP) party will win the second round of French presidential elections with 54 percent of all the valid votes cast against the Socialist Party candidate Segolene Royal's 46 percent, according to an opinion poll conducted by French research firm Ipsos and published by the French press on Saturday.

    According to the 27th in a series of opinion polls which are conducted daily, Sarkozy will win the first round of these presidential elections by garnering 32 percent of all the votes cast compared with Royal's 24 percent. The center candidate Francois Bayrou is third with 18.5 percent followed by the far right candidate Jean-Marie Le Pen with 12 percent.

France's UMP political party presidential candidate Nicolas Sarkozy delivers a speech during a campaign rally in Nice, southeastern France, March 30, 2007. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo) Photo Gallery >>>

    This poll reveals that in case of a two-way contest between Nicolas Sarkozy and Francois Bayrou, candidate for the Union for French Democracy (UDF) party during the second round of these elections, the latter would win with 51.5 percent of all votes cast against Sarkozy's 48.5 percent.

    The opinion poll which was launched on March 1, 2007 will be updated on a daily basis, with the exception of Sundays, until May4, only two days before the second round of these elections.

    This poll was conducted by telephone on March 28, 29 and 30 using a national sample of 1,277 people. New respondents for this opinion poll are picked everyday.

    The first round of French presidential elections in which 12 candidates will seek to be elected president will be held on April 22. The second round in which French voters will pick a new president to serve for a five-year term will be held on May 6 between the two leading candidates from the first round.