But the French president was dealt a serious blow by Front National leader, Marine Le Pen, who told her supporters she would not vote for him.
Tens of thousands of Sarkozy's flag-waving supporters, many of them party activists bussed in from the provinces by his rightwing UMP party, turned out at Paris's Trocadero in front of an imposing backdrop of the Eiffel tower.
Sarkozy's alternative May day Labour rally, which he initially said was a defiant celebration of "real" work versus the traditional trade union marches, had caused a political slanging match in France.
A Communist newspaper and various commentators likened the president to Marshal Pétain, the leader of France's Nazi collaborationist Vichy regime in the 1940s, for trying to appropriate the "values of work" for the right. His party slammed the parallels as shameful and disgusting.
Sarkozy told the crowd: "We don't want Socialism!" He stressed the importance of loving France, the value of work, and promised a new French social model with fewer rules and red tape. He said France must defend "values, identity and the frontiers that protect us", adding: "Do you think China doesn't defend its identity?"
With polls showing a six to eight point lead for the Socialist François Hollande in the final vote on 6 May, and one survey showing only 19% of French people think Sarkozy can still win the election, party activists in the crowd admitted a victory for Sarkozy would be very hard. Many had spent €10 (£8.15) on T-shirts bearing a picture of General de Gaulle and the words, "He saved France, so did Nicolas Sarkozy".
A group of students in Dijon had been up until 2am plastering the centre of town with stickers warning that a win for the left would lead to bankruptcy for France. All were counting on what they hoped would be a bruising performance by Sarkozy in the live TV debate between the candidates on Wednesday night. Historically the debate has not shifted opinions, rather confirmed them. Polls show over 80% of French voters have already made up their mind.
The Front National leader held her own traditional May Day rally to commemorate Joan of Arc. After Le Pen came third in the first round vote with 17.9%, the party's highest ever share, her 6.4 million voters are now kingmakers.
For Sarkozy to win, he needs the vast majority of them to vote for him and has hardened his stance on immigration, aware that fears about immigrants are the top concern on the far-right. But Le Pen, who boasts she is now the "political centre of gravity in the campaign" announced at her rally that, faced with the choice between Sarkozy and Hollande, she would vote "blank", spoiling her ballot in Sunday's vote. She told supporters: "I have made my choice. Each of you will make yours".
Le Pen's rally saw thousands gather outside Paris Opera house, more than in recent years, chanting slogans such as, "Neither left nor right" and "This is our home, our country", as well as some shouting that they proudly ate pork. Le Pen's party is now focusing on the June parliamentary elections where it claims it has a chance of winning at least a dozen seats, and returning to parliament for the first time since voting rules changed in 1986.
If Sarkozy loses, his ruling UMP party, which combines various rightwing and centrist strands, could face months of infighting and Le Pen hopes to capitalise and gain ground on the right.
Sarkozy continued courting the far-right in a radio interview. Asked whether France has too many immigrants, he said: "Yes. Having taken in too many people, we paralysed our system of integration.
"I will never argue for zero immigration, but the reality is that when you invite more people than you can handle, you no longer integrate them."
An OpinionWay-Fiducial survey found 49% of French voters feel Sarkozy's campaign was leaning too far to the right. Union-led rallies marched across France, with many demonstrators carrying anti-Sarkozy banners. Jobs and France's record unemployment are the key concerns among voters.
Hollande was in central France to commemorate Pierre Bérégovoy, a former Socialist prime minister who shot himself in 1993. Hollande said he wanted to be the successor to the last Socialist president – François Mitterrand – and stressed how he would turn Europe away from hard austerity towards growth measures.
He said: "A certain number of heads of states or government who were attached to austerity, are beginning to talk about – and the word hurts them – growth. Well after the final vote in the French election, they won't just talk about it, they will put into practice a policy of growth if we win."
Original Article
Source: guardian
Author: Angelique Chrisafis
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