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Sparks fly in Sarkozy, Royal TV debate - Crispian Balmer
Presidential candidate Segolene Royal attacked the record of her rightist rival Nicolas Sarkozy during a televised debate on Wednesday that could determine the winner of Sunday's decisive run off election. Royal came out fighting at the start of the two-hour clash, immediately lambasting the outgoing rightist government, in which Sarkozy served as both interior minister and finance minister. "You are in part responsible for the situation in which France finds itself today," a combative Royal said, accusing the government of failing to tackle unemployment and overseeing an increase in street crime.
Editorial Note EU-Digest: "An interesting debate which mainly focussed on French domestic issues. During the more than two hour debate there was only a ten minute discussion on international issues. Sarkozy stressed he wanted a politically strong EU with a universally elected President, no further expansion, and noted his opposition to Turkey's membership in the EU. Royal called on the world to boycott the Chinese Olympic games because of their poor human rights record. On Europe, Royal called for closer cooperation among European nations, a stronger institutional framework and stressed that Turkey be given a fair chance to meet EU membership requirements and join the Union. None of the two candidates discussed the issue of terrorism or the Trans-Atlantic relationship. Sarkozy an advocate of the free market system, also reiterated his pledge to clamp down on golden parachutes given to CEO's.Both candidates voiced strong support for the Kyoto treaty and suggested France should boycot products produced in countries which do not adhere to the treaty. The debate was watched by some 22 million voters in France. Polls show a very close race with Sarkozy ahead by about 4 percentage points. One thing is certain, whoever wins this election will bring change to France."
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