Europe News

Le Pen tells his supporters to abstain in French election

May 1, 2007, 11:23 GMT

Paris - French right-wing extremist Jean-Marie Le Pen on Tuesday told his supporters to 'abstain massively' in the May 6 presidential run-off election between Nicolas Sarkozy and Segolene Royal.

'I invite the voters who placed their confidence in me not to give their votes to Mrs Royal or Mr Sarkozy and to abstain massively. We must not take any responsibility for the May 6 outcome,' Le Pen said during his traditional May Day speech, which followed a march through central Paris by his supporters in honour of Joan of Arc.

Le Pen finished a disappointing fourth in the April 22 first round of the presidential election, garnering 10.44 per cent of the vote.

In 2002, he had stunned French politics by receiving nearly 17 per cent of the vote in the first round and beating Socialist candidate Lionel Jospin to advance to the runoff.

Polls conducted before Le Pen's speech showed that Sarkozy will receive about 60 per cent of his votes on May 6, with one-fourth of the far-right voters abstaining.