France votes: 'A very tense, vicious campaign'

Nicolas Sarkozy and Francois Hollande have been making their final pitch for votes in one of the most dramatic elections in recent French history.

Opinion polls suggest the incumbent president has cut Mr Hollande's lead slightly, but is still trailing his Socialist challenger by some 6%.

Analysts say he needs a major reversal in fortunes to win on Sunday.

Speaking to the BBC's Christian Fraser, French journalist Christine Ockrent said that the 2012 presidential race was, at times, "a very tense, vicious campaign".