Sarkozy and Hollande to face off on May 6

Following a first round of voting Sunday in the French presidential elections, President Nicolas Sarkozy and Socialist Francois Hollande have emerged as the leading candidates who will face off in a decisive second round on May 6.

Hollande won the first round with 28.56 percent of the vote, followed by Sarkozy, the Union for a Popular Movement candidate, with 27.07 percent, according to returns issued by the interior ministry.

French election laws state that if no candidate gains at least 50 percent of the votes in the first round, the two highest-scoring candidates will have a run-off a fortnight later.