Nicolas Sarkozy throws down the gauntlet as he announces France re-election bid But the message was clearly that the incumbent conservative had the safest pair of hands to protect France from the economic ills of Europe and the wider world. Mr Hollande, by comparison, has never held a ministerial post. The most unpopular President at this stage of his mandate in French history, Mr Sarkozy hopes his legendary campaigning skills will help him now close the gap on his lower-octane Socialist rival Francois Hollande. The latest survey published yesterday by Harris Interactive, forecast that Mr Hollande would win the first round on April 22 with 28 per cent to Sarkozy's 24 then walk the run-off with 57 per cent to 43 on May 6. Far-Right National Front Marine Le Pen is still in striking distance in round one, on 20 per cent. The incumbent faces a taller order than any of his predecessors but he could yet pull it off, according to a top French pollster. "If he succeeds it would become a textbook case in French electoral history for an incumbent president to come back from such lows in popularity, in personal image, in voting intentions and public confidence - it has never been done before," said Roland Cayrol, head of the CSA polling institute. Tonight's announcement would not give Mr Sarkozy a huge boost as his candidacy "comes as not the slightest surprise, but "he is a formidable campaigner, with talents that nobody else around has," Mr Cayrol told the Daily Telegraph. His strategy is to speak to centrists about the economy and wrenching France out of the crisis, and to the most conservative voters about Right-wing values - welfare rights, immigration, opposition to gay marriage. Mr Sarkozy re-iterated his intention to stage referendums on welfare and immigration, saying: "Lots of French feel dispossessed of their power. I want to give back the power to the French via referendums. Every time there is a blockage, the French people will settle it. Members of Mr Sarkozy's centre-Right UMP party have been champing at the bit to hit the campaign trail. It's a turning point. We are entering another world, that of the campaign," said Nathalie Kosciusko-Morizet, Sarkozy's ecology minister, his campaign spokeswoman. "Now the real campaign starts," Alain Juppé, the French foreign minister told French radio. The president received a surprise message of support on Twitter from his second wife, Cécilia Attias, who divorced shortly after he took office in 2007. "Good luck to Nicolas Sarkozy, who is starting his campaign today," she tweeted. But the Socialists dismissed the announcement as unimportant. "The French just aren't interested in this kind of communication, they just want us to deal with their problems." said party secretary Martine Aubry. Mr Sarkozy will start 67 days of campaigning Thursday with a visit to a cheese factory in the Alpine town of Annecy. His appearance on TF1 coincided with Mr Hollande's second major campaign speech in his home town of Rouen. "My responsibility is to allow France to change President, politics and ruling majority," Mr Hollande told the crowd.