PARIS, May 5 (Xinhua) -- Voting in the French presidential elections began in the country's overseas territories Saturday, a day before polls open in mainland France, French news media reported.

    Some 5,000 registered voters on Saint-Pierre and Miquelon, islands off the coast of Canada, cast the first votes at 8 a.m. local time (1000 GMT) because of the time difference with the mainland.

    Later in the day, voters in French Guiana, Guadeloupe and Martinique, in the Caribbean, and French Polynesia in the Pacific, will also go to the polls.

    About 1 million French nationals overseas are eligible to vote Saturday. Voting for the vast majority of France's 44.5 million registered voters begins at 8 a.m. local time (0600 GMT) Sunday, with the last polling stations closing 12 hours later.

    Latest polls show that Nicolas Sarkozy, candidate of the ruling Union for a Popular Movement party, is enjoying a clear lead against the Socialist Party candidate Segolene Royal after a televised debate Wednesday.

    According to a TNS Sofres survey published Friday, the last day for official campaigning ahead of Sunday's run-off vote, 54.5 percent of voters say they would choose Sarkozy as their new president, while 45.5 percent say they would support Royal.

    Meanwhile, an IPSOS poll put Sarkozy at 54 percent against 46 percent for Royal.

    During Wednesday's debate, the candidates tackled numerous themes such as debt, security, public sector reforms, employment, housing, taxation, education and Europe.

    52-year-old Sarkozy, son of a Hungarian immigrant and a French mother, has promised labor market flexibility, strict controls on immigration, and a return to French values. He is also known for his admiration of the United States.

    Royal, who would be France's first woman leader if elected, wants to maintain generous welfare programs, raise the minimum wage by 20 percent and create 500,000 state-funded starter jobs for youths.

    The two presidential candidates enter the run-off after finishing first and second in the April 22 first-round vote, with Sarkozy winning 31.2 percent of the vote and Royal 25.9 percent.

    The winner of Sunday's elections will replace 74-year-old Jacques Chirac, who has ruled the country for 12 years.