Socialist Hollande leads Sarkozy in polls

PARIS, Feb. 18 (UPI) -- French President Nicolas Sarkozy is lagging behind socialist Francois Hollande in polls for the upcoming presidential election, officials said.

Sarkozy's popularity, however, did raise a percentage point after he officially declared Wednesday he is running for re-election, even though he is still 10 to 20 points behind Hollande, The Daily Telegraph reported.

Yet experts say Sarkozy has a shot at re-election.

"In the polls there are still a large number of electors who say they could still change their minds ... nothing is decided," Pascal Perrineau, a director of research at Sciences Po, said, adding Sarkozy is very much "still in the game."

Sarkozy opened his campaign headquarters Saturday and named Ecology Minister Nathalie Kosciusko-Morizet as his spokeswoman, Radio France Internationale reported.

Sarkozy strategically opened his modestly sized office in a middle-class neighborhood of Paris.

"This is a middle-class area and these are the people I first want to address," he said.