Leading French Socialists to duel for presidential nomination

Leading French Socialist heavyweights Francois Hollande and rival Martine Aubry are preparing to battle for a second time in the space of a week for the prestigious party nomination for France's 2012 presidential election, which will be finally decided next Sunday. According to results from a preliminary primary vote yesterday, out of six contenders, Hollande, 57 and Aubry, 61, emerged as the two top candidates for the party nomination. Hollande polled 39 percent compared with to 31 percent for Aubry in what was a tighter-than-expected race. But the major surprise from Sunday's vote was the strong showing from vocal, left-wing militant Arnaud Montebourg, who got over 17 percent of the two million votes cast and who could have a crucial role in offering his support to either Hollande or Aubry. The winner of next week's race will compete in the first round of presidential voting in April next and likely move into a second round in May against incumbent Nicolas Sarkozy or a different Conservative candidate. Hollande is still tipped to be the Socialists' choice to take on Sarkozy in 2012, but the gap with Aubry and the unknown swing of other Socialist voters mean victory may not a forgone conclusion. Negotiations on strategy, policies and even future government positions are to denominate activity among Socialists this week in the run up to the second-round primary nomination vote.