French candidates clash on TV[fr][de] 

The debate, hosted on France's two main TV channels, attracted a record 20 million viewers during almost two-and-a-half hours of heated exchange.

• Clash on handicapped children

The exchange was marked by a heated clash over handicapped children's rights, an issue that had otherwise attracted little attention in the campaign.

Socialist candidate Ségolène Royal accused her rival Nicolas Sarkozy of "immorality" for posing as a defender of handicapped children. "The gap between words and facts makes me very angry," she said. 

Nicolas Sarkozy, the leader of the ruling centre-right UMP party, tried to use this to his advantage by claiming Royal had lost her temper. She replied that it was "healthy anger".

• Jobs and the economy

The two candidates offered contrasting views on the economy with Royal promising to boost growth to 2.5% and more, mainly through measures to encourage investments by SMEs. Anything coming in surplus of the 2.5% figure would be used to finance debt repayment, she said.

Sarkozy said that France needed to be put back to work if more growth was to be achieved. He said work needed to be better rewarded with extra hours partly exempted from tax as a way to increase purchasing power.

• 35-hour week

The 35-hour week offered another point of conflict with Sarkozy saying it was "a general disaster" for French companies and that no other European country with a successful economy had gone for this option. However, he said he would leave the law virtually untouched and reward extra hours instead.

Royal defended the "social advancement" represented by the 35-hour week but conceded that its implementation had been too rigid in some cases.

• Nuclear energy

A low point arrived when a defiant Royal challenged Sarkozy to state how much electricity France produces from nuclear energy. "Half", Sarkozy said. "No. Seventeen percent", she replied. In fact, both candidates were wrong, with nuclear accounting for 78% of France's electricity needs. The 17% figure relates to the country's reliance on nuclear for its overall energy needs.

• Turkey’s EU membership

Sarkozy reiterated his clear opposition to Turkey's EU entry while Ségolène Royal said a "pause" was necessary before any further enlargement. The end decision would be left to the French people in a referendum, she added.

• European revival

Both candidates repeated their earlier stance, with Royal pleading for a new EU Treaty with a social dimension following the rejection of the Constitution by French voters in 2005. Sarkozy favours a purely institutional ‘mini-treaty’ that would be ratified in Parliament.