Following an effective appearance on national television last week, the Socialist Party candidate, Segolene Royal, has pulled even in the polls with the center-right (Union pour un Mouvement Populaire, or UMP) candidate, Nicolas Sarkozy, according to this article in Le Figaro. Sarkozy had previously held a solid 8% to 10% lead before the appearance. Royal came across on TV as more likable than Sarkozy according to this article, although Sarkozy was seen as more convincing, competent, and more in tune with the concerns of more viewers.
Sarkozy also had a bad day today, answering incorrectly a journalists question about the number of nuclear submarines France has. (He said four, the journalist corrected him by saying he was incorrect, there are five, when in fact there are six, according to the Minister of Defense.) “Honestly,” Sarkozy said in response, “the question is a little specific.”