FACTBOX-Five facts about France's Royal and Sarkozy

(Reuters) - Right-wing candidate Nicolas Sarkozy and Socialist Segolene Royal contested a run-off presidential election in France on Sunday.

Following are five facts about Royal and Sarkozy, who eliminated 10 other candidates in a first round of voting on April 22.

NICOLAS SARKOZY

* A right-wing former interior minister who has led opinion polls since mid-January and won almost 31.2 percent of votes in the first-round ballot, Sarkozy is bidding to become the first son of an immigrant to rule modern France. His father comes from Hungary.

* Aged 52, he made his name as a hardliner fighting illegal immigration and crime. Along with national identity, those issues found a strong echo in the latter stages of his campaign.

* Briefly finance minister in 2004 he saved engineering giant Alstom from collapse, confounding critics who branded him a rabid free marketeer. Vows to restore full employment in five years, free-up the labour market, encourage French to work more.

* Despite efforts to soften his strident image by showing a more human side, fears of renewed unrest prevented him from campaigning freely in poor districts, whose enmity he earned over his handling of 2005 suburban riots.

* He is an energetic leader who enjoys jogging and does not smoke or drink. But his character became a campaign issue after he suggested a possible genetic link to paedophilia and faced renewed speculation about his marriage due to low profile of his wife Cecilia, his closest advisor.

SEGOLENE ROYAL