French right-wing presidential candidate Nicolas Sarkozy (L) and Socialist party candidate Segolene Royal. (Xinhua/AFP Photo)

    PARIS, May 5 (Xinhua) -- Voting started in France's overseas territories Saturday for the presidential run-off, one day earlier than mainland France, as right-winger Nicolas Sarkozy has extended his lead over left-wing Socialist Segolene Royal to some 9 percent in the latest polls.

    Some 5,000 voters in the tiny Atlantic islands of Saint Pierre and Miquelon off Canada were the first to cast their ballots, French media reported. Polling stations opened at 8 a.m. local time (1000 GMT).

    Some 175,000 French expatriates living in the Americas also started voting as polling stations opened later. Most of them live in the United States and Canada.

    A total of 820,000 voters have registered overseas. But some of them may return to mainland France to cast their ballots.

    Overseas voters were able to vote ahead of their compatriots on the mainland for the first time this year. This arrangement is designed to avoid them already knowing the results before they go to the polls.

    Polling stations open at 8 a.m. (0600 GMT) Sunday in mainland France. First results are expected when all the stations close at 8 p.m. (1800 GMT).

    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, president of the ruling right-wing Union for a Popular Movement (UMP), as their new president, while 45.5 percent say they would support Royal of the Socialist Party. Meanwhile, an IPSOS poll put Sarkozy at 54 percent against 46 percent for Royal.

    Campaigning stopped by midnight Friday to allow the 44.5 million eligible voters time to reflect on their choice. A media blackout on the elections across France was also imposed.

    In the first round ballot on April 22, 52-year-old Sarkozy and Royal, 53, won 31.2 percent and 25.9 percent of the vote respectively, stopping centrist Francois Bayrou and far right veteran Jean-Marie Le Pen as well as eight other contenders in their bids for the Elysee Palace.

    Although Sarkozy remains the front-runner, anything can happen on the election day.

    Analysts say that it will be crucial how the 6.8 million supporters of centrist Francois Bayrou would vote.

    Bayrou, chief of the Union for a French Democracy, has said he would not vote for Sarkozy, French daily Le Monde reported in it Friday edition.

    Speaking after Wednesday's televised debate between Sarkozy and Royal, Bayrou also said he would not make any declarations before Sunday's vote. However he declined to advice his supporters on how to vote.

    Both Sarkozy and Royal have promised new ideas to tackle France' s runaway national debt, high unemployment and other social issues.

    Sarkozy promised labor market flexibility, strict controls on immigration, and a return to French values. He has promised to bring unemployment down from 8.3 percent to below five percent, and stimulate growth through a series of tax cuts.

    Royal, bidding to become France's first female president, has promised to extend the country's welfare system and consolidate the reduced 35-hour working week. She will tackle youth unemployment, pledging to create 500,000 jobs for the young French whose jobless rate is more than twice the national average.

    The war of words between the two presidential hopefuls continued to the end of the official campaigning on Friday.

    Royal launched her strongest personal attack on Sarkozy, saying his election would unleash violence in the high-immigration suburbs that were the center of the 2005 riots.

    "Choosing Nicolas Sarkozy would be a dangerous choice," Royal told RTL radio. "It is my responsibility today to alert people to the risk of (his) candidature with regards to the violence and brutality that would be unleashed in the country."

    Sarkozy immediately rebuked Royal. In an interview carried by the French daily Le Parisien on its website on Friday, he criticized her remarks as "the negation of basic democratic rules" and a desperate move to woo supporters.

    No matter who wins the vote, in a change of guard, France will embrace a young president for the next five years. The winner will replace 74-year-old Jacques Chirac, who has ruled the country for 12 years.

    The new president takes office around May 17. 

    Related:

    Backgrounder: Profile of France

    PARIS, May 5 (Xinhua) -- France holds its second round run-off of presidential elections on Sunday. The French president has a five-year term (previously seven years) and can be re-elected once. Following is a brief introduction to the country.

    France is a major player in the European Union (EU) and world politics. France and Germany, enemies in World War II, became the backbone of European integration. The coal and steel community between the two countries together with Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg was the beginning of today's EU.

    Profile: Sarkozy, strong contender for French presidency

    PARIS, May 5 (Xinhua) -- Supporters of Nicolas Sarkozy have every reason to celebrate as the French presidential hopeful, representing the ruling right-wing Union for a Popular Movement (UMP), is enjoying a clear lead over his arch rival Segolene Royal of the left-wing Socialist Party, in the latest opinion polls.

    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.

    Profile: Royal, aiming to become France's first female president 

    PARIS, May 5 (Xinhua) -- Segolene Royal of the French Socialist Party is campaigning to make history as the first female president of France, which will hold a presidential run-off on Sunday pitting Royal against her right-wing rival Nicolas Sarkozy.

    However, Royal faces a daunting task to fulfill her mission as the latest polls show her about eight to nine percent behind Sarkozy, president of the ruling Union for a Popular Movement (UMP).