French voters cast ballots for president

Voters in France cast ballots Sunday in a presidential election pitting President Nicolas Sarkozy against Socialist Francois Hollande and eight others. Opinion polls last week suggested Sarkozy trails front-runner Hollande, 25 percent to 28 percent in an election where the economy and jobs have been key issues, CNN reported. France has had low economic growth and a 10 percent unemployment rate. Sarkozy told Le Figaro newspaper he would implement new strategies for economic growth and job creation, pointing out that France has seen signs of recovery this year. Hollande on Friday told French radio station Europe 1 that cutting the European Central Bank rank is crucial to improving the economy. "There are two ways we can go. The first is to lower interest rates if we indeed believe this is a way to support growth. And I believe it is, and that the European Central Bank should go in that direction," Hollande said. The second way, "would be to lend directly to states themselves, rather than the chosen path, which has been to support the banks." If no candidate wins an absolute majority in the polls, a runoff election between the two front-runners would take place May 6.