PARIS, April 21: Far-right nationalist Jean-Marie Le Pen ousted Socialist Prime Minister Lionel Jospin from France’s presidential election race in the first round of voting on Sunday, first exit polls showed.

In the shock of the election, they said the veteran paratrooper would face conservative incumbent Jacques Chirac in a runoff on May 5. All three polling institutes showed Chirac ahead, with Le Pen just behind him.

They gave Chirac, bidding for a second term, between 19.8 and 20 per cent of votes to between 17 and 17.9 per cent for Le Pen.

Jospin, in a result that if confirmed would probably end his political career, polled between 16 and 16.1 per cent, the Ipsos, Sofres and CSA polling institutes said.—Reuters