France's presidential candidates are preparing for a final day of campaigning ahead of Sunday's vote with all opinion polls pointing to a victory for right-winger Nicolas Sarkozy over Socialist Ségolène Royal.
Mr Sarkozy, who has topped every opinion poll since leading in the first round vote on April 22nd, will visit the Alps. Campaigning must end at midnight ahead of voting in some of France's overseas territories on tomorrow. The rest of the nation will vote on Sunday.
Ms Royal will spend today in Brittany, in western France, where she will be hoping to win over any undecided voters who could help her close the gap with her rival and make her France's first woman president.
Speaking yesterday in Montpellier in southern France, Mr Sarkozy promised to bring people together "without hatred" in a "disparate coalition".
Ms Royal, speaking at a rally in Lille in the north, dared the French to pick a woman and asked her supporters to use their "positive energy" to convince "those who are still hesitating."
The pair went head to head in a prime-time live television debate on Wednesday evening. Media commentators generally judged the debate a draw, but opinion polls carried out afterwards said Mr Sarkozy had extended his lead.
Ms Royal came out fighting from the start, but she failed to dent Mr Sarkozy's aura of competence and appeared bad tempered.