Low in polls, Sarkozy stakes all on campaign verve

Delivering thundering speeches in three cities that left him worked into a sweat aides had not seen in years, French President Nicolas Sarkozy showed in the first week of his re-election campaign that he has lost none of his oratorical power.
Yet mingling with the public in Lille, a northern city whose bleak backstreets betray its struggle to adapt to the decline of local heavy industry, Sarkozy's eyes flicker restlessly and he looks ill-at-ease, as if he can sense the hostile mood.
The conservative leader is betting on his legendary verve on the campaign trail as he goes into battle with the double handicap of poor poll ratings and the same anger over the sickly economy that has felled leaders across Europe.
On his side, as he tries to catch up with Socialist Francois Hollande in voter surveys, is his breakneck energy and his plan to unleash a fresh idea a week, while Hollande is stuck defending a campaign programme he launched back in January.
Where he may struggle is at street level, as voters he meets on walkabout blame him for three years of tight purse strings and the highest unemployment in 12 years. Struggling households see the affable Hollande as more likely to protect their welfare benefits.
"I voted for Sarkozy last time but this time I don't know. He promised a lot but he hasn't done much," said Fouzia, a retired cleaning lady in a crowd of bystanders in Lille.
"We are paying too dearly for the euro. We are paying too much just to live," said the 62-year-old, who said most of her eight children are unemployed and the others do menial jobs. The number of jobless in France has hit a 12-year high.
Since he formally entered what is now a two-horse race on February 15, some polls indicate that Sarkozy has narrowed the gap to 1-2 points behind Hollande for the April 22 first round, though Hollande remains 12 points ahead in surveys for the runoff two weeks later.
High on adrenalin, Sarkozy is betting he can harness the same determination and muscle he has used over the euro zone debt crisis and in North Africa to convince voters they should not replace him with a man who has no ministerial experience.