FRANCE: Four days before the first round of legislative elections, President Jacques Chirac last night appealed to the French people to fulfil their civic duty to vote, and asked them to restore to him the parliamentary majority he lost five years ago.
To enable France to address its problems, "our action must be supported by a real majority", Mr Chirac said on national television. "There is no alternative to this necessity." The objective of democracy "is not paralysis".
Mr Chirac said any centre-right politician who accepts the support of the National Front will be excluded from his majority. He also excluded a "political amnesty" - an allusion to widespread rumours that a triumphant centre-right will clear Mr Chirac of responsibility for financial scandals.
Mr Chirac appears confident of victory.