Far-right leader Jean-Marie Le Pen urged his supporters Tuesday to abstain from voting in France’s weekend presidential runoff between conservative Nicolas Sarkozy and Socialist Segolene Royal.
Le Pen collected about 10.5 percent of the ballot to finish fourth in the April 22 first round. It was far from certain how his announcement could reshape the outcome Sunday, which will determine who runs a country adrift and eager for change after 12 years under President Jacques Chirac.
An anti-immigration nationalist who stunned France and much of Europe in 2002 by qualifying for the runoff against Chirac, Le Pen said he was focusing on upcoming parliamentary elections.
Centrist leader Francois Bayrou, who was third in the first round, has not advised his supporters how to vote Sunday — but he didn’t ask them to stay home.
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Items compiled from Tribune news services.
