With just days to ago to the second round of the presidential election the far-right leader has urged his supporters not to vote for neither remaining candidate. Jean-Marie le Pen, who was eliminated after coming fourth in the first ballot, urged his followers to abstain, at a rally in Paris.

The battle is now between conservative Nicholas Sarkozy and Segelone Royal of the Socialists. Polls have suggested most Le Pen would vote for Sarkozy. But their leader wants them to send out a clear message. “I invite the voters who showed their confidence in me to give their vote neither to Madame Royal nor to Mr Sarkozy,” he said. “I invite them to abstain massively.”

Sarkozy was the clear winner in the initial vote, and polls show him to have a 4-6 point lead. But with so many votes from rival camps up for grabs the election is too close to call.

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