France's Socialists are holding rare nationwide primaries Sunday to decide who will challenge President Nicolas Sarkozy in an election in the spring that is expected to revolve chiefly around how to fix the country's finances.
Six contestants, including Ségolène Royal, who lost to Mr. Sarkozy in 2007, and François Hollande, Ms. Royal's former partner, are vying for the Socialist party nomination. The vote is open to all French adults willing to pay at least one euro and pledge they adhere to the left's values.
The party will organize a runoff with the two leading candidates on Oct. 16 if none of them get more than 50% in the first round.
Contrary to tradition in most countries, both major French parties—not just the Socialists—have used past presidential elections to outline new benefits and costly government-sponsored projects. In contrast, the 2012 vote could center on an unusual theme: austerity.
France is under heavy pressure by international investors to rein in chronic budget deficits to reassure investors that the country won't be contaminated by the sovereign-debt crisis roiling Greece and other Southern European nations.
Leaders of the UMP, the ruling party of Mr. Sarkozy, have said their 2012 platform would be consistent with the president's pledge to reduce budget deficits. Although no consensus has emerged among Socialists, the leading candidates in Sunday's primaries have said deficit reduction was among their top priorities. France's deficit was 7.1% of gross domestic product in 2010. The government has pledged to reduce that gradually to 3% of GDP in 2013 to fall in line with EU rules.
"Debt is the enemy of the left and of France," Mr. Hollande, the front-runner in the polls for the Socialist primaries, said in a recent speech.
The Socialists have gained momentum in recent months, winning a streak of regional elections as well as a majority in the Senate together with other left-leaning parties in September. In contrast, Mr. Sarkozy—who is widely expected to seek a second mandate—has seen his approval ratings sink to record lows amid faltering economic growth and a rising unemployment rate, which was 9.1% in the second quarter.
A set of austerity measures introduced last month to reassure investors that France deserved to retain its prized triple-A debt rating has also dented Mr. Sarkozy's popularity. Fewer than one in four adults approves of Mr. Sarkozy's policies, according to recent polls.
The last time the Socialists won a French presidential election was in 1988, when François Mitterrand won and served until 1995.
Back in May, the Socialists were left dumbfounded by the political demise of Dominique Strauss-Kahn, the former International Monetary Fund head and a leading party member who was seen as the strongest contender to beat Mr. Sarkozy in next year's election. Although New York prosecutors have dismissed the attempted rape charges they had filed against Mr. Strauss-Kahn after his arrest in the U.S., the French politician has said he wouldn't run for president in 2012 amid a lack of party support.
Despite the setback, the Socialist Party has succeeded in keeping a lid on traditional internal divisions and turning its primaries—an unusual competition in France—into a showcase for the party's ideas. It is only the second time the French Socialist party has held a primary; the party's leadership has usually chosen its own candidate.
"Many thought it was a dangerous exercise, because the Socialists hate themselves more than they hate others," said Emiliano Grossman, a professor at Paris's Sciences Po university. "But things have been very civilized."
The Socialist Party has set up 9,500 polling stations across the country to allow as many as four million voters to cast their ballots, in an open primary similar to those held in some U.S. states—such as Alabama and Michigan.
Pollsters say it is hard to predict the outcome of Sunday's vote, which depends largely on the nature of the turnout. Surveys, however, suggest that Mr. Hollande and Martine Aubry, the Socialist Party head, will come out ahead in the first round.
Another candidate, Arnaud Montebourg, wants to tax financial transactions, bring banks back under state control and pressure tax havens to force French citizens to repatriate their savings, and another, Manual Valls, proposes to raise the sales tax to help balance the budget.
Some polls suggest both Mr. Hollande and Ms. Aubry would defeat Mr. Sarkozy if the presidential election were held now.
Analysts, however, caution against reading too much into those surveys. They say the expected birth of Mr. Sarkozy's fourth child in the coming days, the first together with his wife Carla Bruni, could boost his image. And the incumbent president is well known for his drive on the campaign track.
"Mr. Sarkozy has always been very strong in the final stages of electoral campaigns," said Emiliano Grossman, another Sciences Po professor. "He's a campaign animal."
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