French President Francois Hollande (R) welcomes former French President Nicolas Sarkozy, head of the French conservative UMP party, (L) at the Elysee Palace before attending a solidarity march (Marche Republicaine) in the streets of Paris January 11, 2015. REUTERS/Pascal Rossignol
PARIS (Reuters) - Nicolas Sarkozy vs Francois Hollande: the re-match. With both having tightened their grips on their parties in recent days, a 2017 repeat of France's 2012 presidential election now looks like the most likely scenario.
The snag is that three quarters of the French do not want either the current president or his predecessor to run again, polls show - a fact that could boost the protest vote for the far-right National Front while making for a low turnout that would give any mainstream victor a weak mandate for reforms.
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