French pause for thought before vote

Story Highlights

• "Day of reflection" in France before voting begins in presidential election
• Polls open Sunday for first round; top contenders go head to head on May 6
• When campaigning ended, more than a third of voters were undecided

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PARIS, France (CNN) -- France paused Saturday for a "day of reflection" -- in which campaigning is barred -- before voting begins in presidential elections on Sunday.

Official campaigning ended at midnight Friday (2200 GMT), and a ban came into force preventing all media from publishing opinion polls and statements from the 12 candidates.

After a day meant for discussion among family and friends, voting opens across France at 8 a.m. (0600 GMT) Sunday morning and ends 12 hours later, with projections due out immediately.

If no candidate wins a majority in the first round, the two front-runners from the ballot qualify for a decisive second round on May 6.

The four leading contenders -- Nicolas Sarkozy, Segolene Royal, centrist Francois Bayrou and far-right leader Jean-Marie Le Pen -- held their last rallies on Thursday evening, appealing to the third of the 44.5 million voters that pollsters said were still undecided.

All three main candidates come from a new generation of political leaders, and all claim to represent a radical break from the past.

All also describe France as a country in crisis, thanks to massive debt, high unemployment, low income levels and simmering discord in the riot-hit suburbs.

In Sarkozy and Royal, voters face a clear choice between a right-wing program based on free-market ideas and a left-winger promising to safeguard the country's "social model."

Also running in the election are three Trotskyites, a Communist, a Green and anti-capitalist campaigner Jose Bove. The other two are a hunters' rights candidate and the Catholic nationalist Philippe de Villiers.

Observers say the next president of France will inherit a nation on the brink of an economic crisis, struggling with national identity and coping with a poverty-stricken immigrant community still reeling from the 2005 youth riots.

CNN's Senior Correspondent Jim Bittermann said the campaign had been fierce compared to previous presidential races.

"It has been a really intense campaign, probably more so than usual," he said. "The turnout I'm sure is going to be high on Sunday just because I think the people are so interested."

Bittermann added that the election buzz was inescapable on the streets of Paris.

"Everywhere you go people are talking about the election," he said. "Every taxi driver, every news stand vendor is talking about the election and usually the first question is, what do you think is going to happen?"

Bittermann said the mood was tense since people have lost confidence in the exit polls. He added that at this stage of the game, any one of the top four candidates could end up in the top two.

CNN's Senior Correspondent Jim Bittermann contributed to this report