Political rivals on the run

after a poll showed she could beat any of the top likely candidates in a first-round presidential election.
The survey by pollster Harris Interactive published in Le Parisien newspaper showed Le Pen would win 24 percent of the first-round vote, ahead of the leading contenders from the main left- and right-wing rival parties.
“If ever there were a moment to shake up the system, it is now,” Le Pen told supporters in the eastern city of Strasbourg yesterday.
Dominique Strauss-Kahn, the IMF chief who has polled as the strongest candidate for the opposition Socialists, would win 23 percent if he were in the race, with President Nicolas Sarkozy beaten into third place on 20 percent.
The poll said Le Pen would also come out top if the Socialists were represented by Francois Hollande, another of its main contenders, with Sarkozy in second place in that scenario. – AFP.