By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
Preliminary results and pollsters' projections showed conservative Nicolas Sarkozy and Socialist Segolene Royal advancing Sunday to a runoff for the French presidency, offering a stark choice of left or right for a nation eager for new direction.
Four polling agencies put Sarkozy ahead of Royal, and both of them in the May 6 runoff, eliminating the 10 other first-round candidates. A preliminary result from the Interior Ministry, based on a count of 12.5 million votes, had Sarkozy leading with 30 percent, followed by Royal with 24 percent.