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| 'Bullet sent' to French Green candidate Eva Joly | 'Bullet sent' to French Green candidate Eva Joly |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| A bullet and threatening letters have been sent to French Green presidential candidate Eva Joly, her campaign manager has said. | A bullet and threatening letters have been sent to French Green presidential candidate Eva Joly, her campaign manager has said. |
| The bullet was sent last month, Stephane Sitbon-Gomez told the French news agency AFP after a report emerged on French radio. | The bullet was sent last month, Stephane Sitbon-Gomez told the French news agency AFP after a report emerged on French radio. |
| "We get very nationalist letters from the extreme right," he added. | "We get very nationalist letters from the extreme right," he added. |
| Ms Joly, who has two bodyguards, was undeterred from campaigning for the election in April, he said. | Ms Joly, who has two bodyguards, was undeterred from campaigning for the election in April, he said. |
| An autobiography of the candidate for the Europe Environment-Greens bloc, who is a former magistrate of Norwegian origin, is being published on Thursday. | |
| Three opinion polls released this week suggest she will come sixth in the first round of the presidential election on 22 April, with about 3% of the vote. | Three opinion polls released this week suggest she will come sixth in the first round of the presidential election on 22 April, with about 3% of the vote. |
| The same polls indicate Socialist candidate Francois Hollande will lead the conservative incumbent, Nicolas Sarkozy, into a second round on 6 May - by 31% to 23.5%, according to latest survey, by polling group Ifop. | The same polls indicate Socialist candidate Francois Hollande will lead the conservative incumbent, Nicolas Sarkozy, into a second round on 6 May - by 31% to 23.5%, according to latest survey, by polling group Ifop. |
| Marine Le Pen, the far-right National Front candidate, remains in third place (20% - Ifop) while in fourth is centrist candidate Francois Bayrou, whose support appears to have fallen slightly in recent weeks (12% - Ifop). | Marine Le Pen, the far-right National Front candidate, remains in third place (20% - Ifop) while in fourth is centrist candidate Francois Bayrou, whose support appears to have fallen slightly in recent weeks (12% - Ifop). |
| Placed fifth is the Left Party's Jean-Luc Melenchon (7.5% - Ifop) while Mr Sarkozy's old rival, Dominique de Villepin, is tipped to come seventh (1% - Ifop). | Placed fifth is the Left Party's Jean-Luc Melenchon (7.5% - Ifop) while Mr Sarkozy's old rival, Dominique de Villepin, is tipped to come seventh (1% - Ifop). |
| Death threats | |
| "These are the unpleasant hazards of a campaign," Mr Sitbon-Gomez said. | |
| "We don't want to publicise this business or make a drama of it, portraying Eva Joly as a victim. | |
| "We are continuing on our way." | |
| Ms Joly, 68, has reportedly received death threats in the past, notably for her work as an investigative judge, when she handled a corruption case against the oil company Elf Aquitaine in the 1990s. | |
| Born in Norway, she moved to France at the age of 20 as an au pair, marrying and pursuing a career in law. | |
| She has maintained ties with Scandinavia, where she has campaigned against corruption. | |
| In her autobiography, No Cheating, she writes: "I am a Viking going back 20 generations but part of me, of my dreams, struck a chord with France immediately." | |
| After winning the French Green presidential ticket for the first time last summer, she travelled in October to Fukushima to see the aftermath of the Japanese earthquake and nuclear disaster. | |
| She returned "more convinced than ever" that "the nuclear risk was unacceptable". | |
| Environmental politics in France has been dominated in recent years by the future of the country's lucrative nuclear power industry. | |
| In November, the Greens sealed an electoral pact with the Socialists under which the Greens can count on winning more seats in parliament in return for supporting Francois Hollande in the expected second round of the presidential election. | |
| Under the pact, nearly half of France's nuclear power stations will be closed by 2025. | |
| President Sarkozy's government accused the Socialists of sacrificing the nuclear industry in return for short-term electoral advantage. |