(AKI) - Muslims electors in France shunned rightwing presidential frontrunner Nicolas Sarkozy and opted in droves for Socialist candidate Segolene Royal in the first round of voting on Sunday, according to a newly published CSA-CISCO poll commissioned by Catholic daily La Croix. Just one percent of Muslims cast their ballot for crime busting free marketeer Sarkozy, compared with a massive 64 percent for Royal and 19 percent for centrist candidate Francois Bayrou.That tells me which side each of the candidates is on.
Catholic electors, on the other hand, favoured Sarkozy over Royal. Overall, 37 percent voted for Sarkozy, compared with 20 percent for Royal - the same proportion as for Bayrou, who is a practising Catholic, according to the poll, which was carried out on a sample of 5,000 voters.
While Muslim voting patterns did not depend on whether the elector surveyed was a practising or non-practising Muslim, the poll found a higher percentage of practising than non-practising Catholics voted for Sarkozy: 45 percent of those going to mass at least once a month compared with 11 percent who voted for Royal.
According to final interior ministry results, Sarkozy took 31.1 percent of Sunday's vote against Royal's 25.8, Bayrou's 18.6 and far-right anti-immigrant candidate Jean-Marie Le Pen's 10.5. Sarkozy and Royal will face each other in the 6 May run-off. An IPSOS poll conducted after Sunday's first round predicted Sarkozy would beat Royal by 54 percent to 46 percent in the run-off - in which observers say the middle ground will tip the scales.