Sarkozy, Royal reach out to centrist voters

PARIS (Reuters) - French presidential rivals Nicolas Sarkozy and Segolene Royal reached out to centrist voters on Monday, hoping to win votes from an undecided group that is key to their runoff on May 6.

Sunday's first round ballot set up a classic race between left and right in France after Sarkozy, the conservative former interior minister, scored a resounding win with 31.2 percent against 25.9 percent for the Socialist candidate Royal.

Sarkozy holds a clear lead before the decisive second round, with polls giving him 52-54 percent against 46-48 percent for Royal and leaving the Socialists with a big hill to climb.

"I want to be the president of all French," Sarkozy told some 15,000 cheering supporters in Dijon, a Socialist-run city southeast of Paris, adding his vision of France was open to all.

Both candidates are courting supporters of centrist Francois Bayrou, who captured 18.6 percent of the vote after a dynamic campaign based on a pledge to sweep aside the ruling elite and overcome traditional political divides.

"I want the republic to be fraternal and united. To all French people I say that there is no need to agree on everything when one agrees on the essentials. On the love one has for one's country, the duties one feels towards it," Sarkozy said.

Royal, on the campaign trail in the southern city of Valence, offered Bayrou talks on the values they have in common ahead of the May 6 vote.

"I am available to talk about the future of France with all those who ... want change and political renovation," Royal said.

Bayrou, head of the small, centre-right UDF party, has not given any endorsement and polls suggest his supporters could vote either way.

"Essentially, the results will be dictated by the behaviour of his voters. They are the ones who will make a difference," Roland Cayrol, head of pollsters CSA told Le Parisien newspaper.

Royal and Sarkozy will hold a televised debate on May 2.

SWING TO CENTRE

Whoever wins will have to address the deep discontent of a country suffering from one of the highest unemployment rates in the European Union and with memories of riots in its deprived multi-ethnic suburbs less than two years ago still raw.

Sarkozy's victory on Sunday owed much to his success in siphoning off support from far-right leader Jean-Marie Le Pen with a campaign based on fighting crime and illegal immigration and encouraging hard work for more pay.

Le Pen himself came fourth on Sunday with 10.44 percent of the vote -- his worst showing at a presidential election since 1974.

However, Sarkozy made clear he would swing to the centre before May 6 to try to soften a combative image that delights his supporters but scares many other voters.

He met outgoing centre-right President Jacques Chirac on Monday and received a message of support for the second round, officials at the Elysee Palace said. He is due to meet conservative Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin on Tuesday.

For her part, Royal, whose own campaign was a mixture of left-wing economic policy and conservative social values, continued on Monday to paint Sarkozy as a dangerous authoritarian and said she would make France a more inclusive place.

"A fairer France will be a stronger France," she said in Valence, as supporters shouted "Segolene -- President".

Royal, who wants to become France's first woman president, has faced doubts over competence even within her own camp after a campaign in which media seized on several gaffes.

Her first round score showed an uphill battle lay ahead, former Socialist Prime Minister Michel Rocard said on Monday.

"I'm a bit worried," he said. "Segolene Royal can, of course, still win, but the figures are the figures," he added.

However, some analysts say Royal's slightly regal personal image and plans for flying the flag and sending young offenders to military-style boot camps mark a break with the traditional style of the Socialists and could aid an appeal to the centre.