AlQa'dah 25, 1432, Oct 23, 2011, SPA -- Socialist party candidate Francois Hollande has extended his lead over incumbent Nicolas Sarkozy in the race to become France's next president, Reuters cited a poll released on Sunday as saying. In the first round of a two-stage election to be held six months from now, Hollande would win 39 percent of votes, up eight percentage points from three weeks ago, while Sarkozy would have 24 percent, up three points, the LH2 poll for Yahoo said. Sixty percent of those polled would back Hollande in a head-to-head contest with Sarkozy in the second round, according to the survey. This was unchanged since May apart from a dip in September. Hollande has benefited from the interest generated by the competition to choose a leader of the Socialist party, which he won last Sunday, as well as his popularity among younger voters aged 18-34, LH2 said. "In the wake of Francois Hollande's success, the Left is becoming the leading political force," LH2 said. Despite lagging his Socialist rival, Sarkozy has seen his share of first-round votes increase in the last three weeks, helped by the arrival of his fourth child, LH2 said. Sarkozy also has benefited from the decision by centrist rival and former Environment Minister Jean-Louis Borloo to abandon his bid to become president, the polling company said. "In the last quarter of 2011, Nicolas Sarkozy will have to confirm or even prove his ability to govern France and maintain the country's economic credibility on an international level," LH2 said. Sarkozy remains the natural candidate for the centre-right UMP party in the presidential elections, although he is not expected to announce he is standing for re-election until January or February. -- SPA
