François Hollande, the Socialist front-runner in France's presidential
elections on Friday promised to curb the number of foreigners allowed to
work in the country in a time of economic crisis, in a measured overture to
the far-Right electorate.

Under pressure to respond to the 18 per cent of voters who backed National
Front candidate Marine Le Pen in Sunday's first round, Mr Hollande also
stipulated that he would uphold and enforce a ban on the full Islamic veil,
despite the fact he abstained in a Right-wing-led parliamentary vote in 2010.

"In a period of crisis in which we find ourselves, limiting economic
immigration is necessary and essential," said the centre-Left candidate
who two polls released yesterday suggest will beat his conservative rival
Nicolas Sarkozy in the May 6 run-off by between eight and nine percentage
points.

The figures suggest Mr Sarkozy's lurch to the hard Right on immigration and
security has so far done little to boost his uphill re-election bid with
eight days to go.

The embattled incumbent requires around 80 per cent of FN supporters to vote
for him next Sunday, but a Harris Interactive survey published yesterday
found that only 48 per cent would vote Sarkozy, while 21 per cent would back
Mr Hollande and 31 per cent plan would abstain.

In a further blow to the Sarkozy campaign, the jobless rate rose in March to
hit its highest level since September 1999.

Mr Hollande argues the FN vote reflects "social anger" against the "injustices"
of the Sarkozy presidency, as well as rising unemployment, falling
purchasing power and a perceived rolling back of public services,
particularly in rural areas.

But he was criticised for evading questions in a TV debate on Thursday on
whether there were too many foreigners in France – a claim Miss Le Pen and
Mr Sarkozy have made in the campaign.

On Friday, he clarified his position, saying he planned to have parliament fix
an annual quota for non-European Union foreigners coming to work in France.

"There will always be legal immigration. Can the number be reduced?
That's the debate," he said, noting that Mr Sarkozy had already brought
the government's annual target for economic migrants down from 30,000 to
20,000.

"In my view, that's the kind of level that would apply in times of
crisis. In any case, the numbers will be managed," he said.

In what some called a sign of desperation, the Sarkozy camp on Thursday
wrongly accused Mr Hollande of being "linked to radical Islam",
saying he had the support of controversial Muslim scholar and Oxford
professor Tariq Ramadan. The Swiss academic flatly denied ever saying he
would vote Hollande.

Then Lionnel Luca, an MP from Mr Sarkozy's ruling Right-wing majority, then
laid into Mr Hollande's partner, Valérie Trierweiler, mockingly calling her "Rottweiler,
and that's being kind to the dog". Mr Sarkozy later condemned the
outburst, saying: "I would have hated anyone saying that about Carla."

Former prime minister Dominique de Villepin became the latest moderate
Right-wingers to criticise Mr Sarkozy's hard-Right turn, saying it "frightens
me". "The shameless poaching of extremist votes is today replacing
debate. The republican red lines are being crossed one by one," he
wrote in Le Monde.

With the debate stuck on immigration and security, the candidates have spent
little time on French voters' prime concerns: employment and the economy.

On Friday, The Economist warned that a Hollande victory would be "rather
dangerous" for France, as his programme promised no meaningful
structural reforms, and could deepen Europe's economic woes. Michel Sapin,
in charge of Mr Hollande's programme, slammed the liberal magazine as "anti-French".
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/francois-hollande/9232210/France-election-2012-Francois-Hollande-promises-to-curb-foreign-workers.html