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Six One News: Tony Connelly, Europe Correspondent, reports that Ségolene Royal remains ahead in the opinion polls as the favourite to win the nomination
Members of France's Socialist Party are voting today on their party's nomination for next year's presidential election.
Ségolène Royal, the frontrunner in the race, has enjoyed a large opinion poll lead over her more experienced rivals.
Outright victory in today's first round would boost her campaign to become France's first female president and reflect opinion poll findings that she is the only Socialist capable of beating the right's frontrunner, Nicolas Sarkozy.
Results are expected to be released by party headquarters in Paris in the early hours of tomorrow morning.
If no candidate wins an absolute majority, the two who gained most votes will stand in a second round run-off scheduled for next Thursday.
