France Votes Its Discontents - NYTimes.com The first-round vote in the French presidential election produced a curious bi-directional backlash - from the left against the policies of austerity and from the right against immigration. The final round, which will be held on May 6, is likely to be important for all of Europe. Sunday's vote produced two front-runners: François Hollande, the Socialist Party challenger who received more than 28 percent of the vote; and President Nicolas Sarkozy, who got about 27 percent. Since neither got a majority, they will face each other in a runoff. The shocking result was the strong third-place finish of Marine Le Pen of the xenophobic National Front, with about 18 percent. The radical anti-immigrant right whose support Mr. Sarkozy has been shamelessly (and largely unsuccessfully) wooing for months is now a stronger and more unpredictable political force than ever. A second-round victory by Mr. Hollande would signal a major change in fiscal direction for France and, by extension, for the entire 17-nation euro zone. A cautious moderate on most issues, and certainly not a socialist in the historic meaning of that term, Mr. Hollande, nevertheless, recognizes that the German-inspired austerity policies Mr. Sarkozy favors are not succeeding. Instead, he would channel the government's taxing and spending power to promote faster economic growth and recovery as a surer route to long-term fiscal balance. With austerity's disastrous results sparking discontent in a growing number of European countries, a Hollande victory could signal a continental turning point. Mr. Sarkozy, the first incumbent in half a century to be bested in the initial vote, now faces an uphill fight for re-election. To win next month, he will have to attract most of the votes cast for Ms. Le Pen and the seven other eliminated candidates. They range from the far left to the moderate center, and current polls show most far-left voters switching to Mr. Hollande in the runoff, with centrists closely divided. That leaves National Front voters, not all of whom are natural Sarkozy supporters. Many are anti-Europe, anti-elitist and contemptuous of Mr. Sarkozy's bling-bling style. Most also loathe Mr. Hollande. But that may not translate to support for Mr. Sarkozy in the runoff, but he has little chance of winning without a substantial share of those votes. He needs to court them more responsibly than he has to date, invoking policy arguments, not the offensive stereotypes of his campaigns against facial veils, halal meat and Muslim street prayer. Those low-road forays did him little good on Sunday, nor did they enhance his dignity. Mr. Sarkozy owes his people a less divisive campaign.