French election debate: nasty but inconclusive

Some 20 million French people tuned in on Wednesday evening (2 May) to watch a tense and insult-laden debate between the two candidates in Sunday's presidential election. The discussion was almost three hours long but produced no clear winner.

Incumbent Nicolas Sarkozy tried to set the frame by saying that voters must be clear after the TV show on what each man plans to do in his five years in office.

He spent much of his time tearing into parts of socialist challenger Francois Ho...