Mr Bayrou scraped 7% in 2002, but he has been quietly gaining ground: one Ifop poll gave him 12%.

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When asked by Ifop, a pollster, how best to raise their purchasing power, only 42% of respondents picked out more retail competition.

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However, opinion on adoption rights for same-sex couples is split almost down the middle, with 52% in favor, according to the Ifop-Le Monde survey.

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One this month by Ifop gave Mr Sarkozy 30%, well above Mr Chirac's 20% in 2002, and Ms Royal 31%, almost twice what Mr Jospin took.

ECONOMIST: The French presidential race

However, opinion on the question of adoption rights for same-sex couples is split almost down the middle, with 52% in favor, according to the Ifop-Le Monde survey conducted October 29-31.

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An opinion poll released Wednesday by polling group Ifop and Le Monde newspaper found 65% of those surveyed support equal marriage rights for same-sex couples -- a clear majority of the population.

CNN: French ministers back draft bill on same-sex marriage

The gap between Mr de Villepin and the persistently popular Mr Sarkozy has narrowed: 12 percentage points separated the two in May, according to Ifop, but the margin was down to a point in July.

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An Ifop poll published in Sunday's Journal du Dimanche showed 75 per cent of voters doubted Mr Hollande would be able to fulfil his promise to "invert the curve" of unemployment by the end of the year.

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Despite an effort a year ago to spice up his image, his popularity rating is low (43%, according to Ifop, a pollster), compared with that of Mr Hollande (48%), and way behind those of popular heroes such as Bernard Kouchner (73%) or Jack Lang (67%).

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