Six days before France starts choosing a president, Ségolène Royal, the Socialist, is struggling to throw off new doubts about her campaign after two star allies urged her to team up with François Bayrou, the centrist who is her most immediate rival.

A defiant Ms Royal, 53, forecast yesterday that she would survive next Sunday’s first round and then beat Nicolas Sarkozy, the conservative fa-vourite, in the May 6 run-off.

“I am going to win. The time has come for women to put the house of France back on a sound basis,” she said.

Ms Royal’s words were aimed at voters — especially women — in her own camp who are hesitating to support her in a first-round fight that has turned into a duel with Mr Bayrou, 55, to avoid elimination next Sunday.

Weekend polls showed that Mr Bayrou remains in third place, but they also continued to show that he would beat Mr Sarkozy in a run-off. For two months surveys have shown that Ms Royal, whose campaign has failed to stir enthusiasm, would lose to Mr Sarkozy.

The centrist’s credibility was boosted over the weekend by calls from Michel Rocard, a Socialist elder statesman, and Bernard Kouchner, a former Health Minister and human rights campaigner, for an alliance between the pair.

A pact between Socialists and Mr Bayrou’s supporters would be vital in the second round to defeat Mr Sarkozy so it would make sense to start now, they said. “Nothing essential separates Socialists and centrists,” Mr Rocard, 78, a former Prime Minister, said. “If we do not take this opportunity we will have no excuse.”

Dr Kouchner, a former UN administrator in Kosovo, who is one of France’s most popular public figures, said that it was time for the Left to unite with the Centre. “I have sufficiently supported and worked with Ségolãne Royal to know that she can carry out this indispen-sible change calmly.”

Ms Royal was privately furious over what she saw as an ambush by two of her most visible supporters. She publicly ruled out any alliance with Mr Bayrou, a politician whose Union for French Democracy had until lately been part of President Chirac’s governing coalition.

Her response was tempered by the knowledge that centrist support will be vital for her in the second round. “François Bayrou is a respectable person but he does not have a plan or a team,” she said. “Millions of French people would feel betrayed if the second round left them with no real choice.”

Mr Bayrou was delighted by the Socialists’ overture. “At last, things are moving,” he said. A senior Socialist told The Times that there was widespread agreement in the party with the Rocard-Kouchner line, but the timing only undermined their candidate further.

The manoeuvring reflected the uncertainty that prevails in a campaign that has been fought for longer and more intensely than any French election. Polls show that between 30 and 40 per cent of voters have yet to make a choice from among the 12 candidates. Particular uncertainty surrounds Jean-Marie Le Pen, 78, leader of the far-right National Front. Polls show his support at about 15 per cent, but his breakthrough to the run-off in 2002 has encouraged fears that he could pull close to Ms Royal and Mr Bayrou.

Mr Le Pen predicted yesterday that Ms Royal was heading for rapid defeat. “French politics have moved to the right and the rapport de force does not leave much room for the Left,” he said. To garner the maximum support from potential Le Pen voters, Mr Sarkozy has been campaigning on immigration, crime and other right-wing issues but he is expected to start moving back towards the centre this week in anticipation of the second-round duel.

The latest CSA institute survey for Le Parisien of first-round voting intentions has put Nicolas Sarkozy at 26 per cent (down one point in the past week), Ségolãne Royal at 23 per cent (down two), François Bayrou at 21 per cent (two points up) and Jean-Marie Le Pen at 15 per cent (same as last week). In a run-off between Mr Sarkozy and Ms Royal on May 6, he would have 51 per cent and Ms Royal 49 per cent.

According to an Ipsos institute poll for Le Point, in a second-round race Mr Sarkozy would have 53 per cent compared with 47 per cent for Ms Royal; while a race between Mr Sarkozy and Mr Bayrou would give Mr Bayrou 53.5 per cent over Mr Sarkozy’s 46.5 per cent. Leading article, page 16 The election

The election

April 22 First-round vote. There are twelve candidates, seven on the Left, five on the Right. To win, a candidate must score more than 50 per cent of the vote. Otherwise the first two go to a run-off

May 6 Run-off between the two leaders from the first round. The presidency goes to the one who receives the most votes

After May 6 The new president appoints a prime minister and Cabinet to run the country pending parliamentary elections in June

May 17 President Chirac leaves office. The new president takes office in the Elysée Palace and the new prime minister is installed with a new, temporary, government

June 10 First round of general parliamentary elections. It is a straight majority system, not proportional, but candidates must achieve more than 50 per cent to win a seat

June 17 Second round of parliamentary elections to decide seats that were not won outright in the first round

June 25 (approximately) The president is likely to reshuffle the government in light of the outcome of the elections. If the new parliamentary majority is from the president’s opposition, it will chose a new prime minister, who will appoint a government in opposition to the president. No parliamentary election has yet produced such a “cohabitation” in the aftermath of a presidential election, although nothing rules it out

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