1.
GV ZOOM OUT Eiffel Tower
0.06

2.
LV Portrait of Giscard d'Estaing and wife being put up at headquarters
0.14

3.
SV Man unloading election screens
0.21

4.
CU ZOOM OUT Giscard d'Estaing poster and campaign workers
0.29

5.
CU Giscard d'Estaing's daughter talking to campaign organisers ZOOM OUT TO large posters
0.37

6.
SV & CU Madame Giscard d'Estaing talking to reporter (2 shots)
0.45

7.
SV Madame Giscard d'Estaing talking to daughter
0.53

8.
SV Campaign workers on telephones (2 shots)
1.01

9.
GV EXT La Tour Montaparnasse
1.05

10.
GV INT Press conference
1.10

11.
SCU Mitterrand
1.20

12.
GV INT Teleprinters
1.25

13.
CU Machines printing election address
1.33

14.
SV Women on telephones
1.36

15.
CU ZOOM OUT Girl typing
1.44

16.
GV Rue Charles Floquet
1.49

17.
CU ZOOM OUT De Gaulle To Chaban Delmas portraits (2 shots)
2.03

18.
SV Campaign workers
2.06

19.
SV Women sorting election leaflets
2.11



Initials BB/1945 TA/AW/BB/2016



Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved

Background: Only three candidates seem to have a chance of winning the French Presidential election as the twelve contestants formally opened their campaigns on Friday (19 April).

Most opinion polls make Gaullist ex-Premier Jacques Chaban-Delmas slight favourite but he has been losing round recently to Finance Minister Valery Giscard d'Estaing. Francois Mitterrand, leading candidate for all France's left-wing parties, is also sure of a large vote.

The French Presidency is usually decided by two rounds of votes. Only the top two of the twelve candidates in the first round, go into the final run off for the Presidency on May 19th.

All the polls predict M. Miterrand will win the first vote as M. Chaban-Delmas and M. Giscard d'Easting are expected to split the government vote. One of them will then have to drop out and the polls say the winning Gaullist from the first vote will then defeat M. Mitterand. M. Mitterrand's best hope is to win more than 50 per cent of the first poll and become outright winner.

Announcing the twelve candidates the Constitutional Council said two would-be candidates had been excluded. It was assumed they had failed to get the necessary 100 signatures of elected officials from ten departments.

The other qualifications are to be French, to have never been in prison and to put up a deposit of ten thousand Francs (about 1,000 sterling). A royalist and a woman strike leader are among the candidates.