France presidential race heads to runoff

PARIS, April 23 (UPI) -- Voters in France's presidential election sent the two top candidates into a runoff campaign in the closest race the country has seen in years.

Voters will decide between Nicolas Sarkozy and Segolene Royal on May 6 following Sunday's election. Sarkozy took 31 percent of the vote Sunday while Royal had just less than 26 percent, the Times of London reported. Centrist Francois Bayrou received just more than 18 percent of the votes and Jean-Marie Le Pen received 11 percent.

The Financial Times reported that while polls favor Sarkozy, the runoff results may depend on where Bayrou's supporters decide to turn.