Socialist presidential front runner François Hollande urged his supporters to turn out en masse to vote in tomorrow’s first election round, warning that abstention helped the far-right eliminate the left from the same contest 10 years ago.

Mr Hollande, tipped in opinion polls to win the two-round election by a comfortable margin, said he feared the positive predictions could lull Socialist voters into staying home, as in 2002.

“Nothing is certain and nobody can tell what the final order and scores will be,” the 57-year-old said.

While Mr Hollande looks set to become France’s first left-wing President in 17 years, the vote will be driven more by anger at Mr Sarkozy’s style and his unfulfilled promises on job creation than enthusiasm for the Socialist candidate. Some polls have suggested the turnout this year could fall to below 70 per cent of France’s 44.5 million voters.

Mr Hollande said the memory of 2002 haunted him, and he noted that polls up to election day that year put Lionel Jospin in second place, four or five points ahead of Jean-Marie Le Pen.

Three days later Mr Le Pen pipped Mr Jospin by a point, sending the anti-immigrant former paratrooper into the run-off, which conservative Jacques Chirac won with the help of votes from left-wingers who were urged to close ranks against Mr Le Pen.