At one point Mr Sarkozy plumbed new depths in a campaign which had already turned xenophobic to recapture ground from Marine Le Pen

Nicolas Sarkozy billed it as the moment of truth, when his challenger François Hollande would explode under the president's superior debating skills. It was the French remake of the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral: one stat every 47 seconds for Mr Sarkozy, matched by one every 36 seconds for Mr Hollande. When Mr Sarkozy launched his Scud – that he would not take lessons on morality from the party of Dominique Strauss-Kahn – back came ...

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