Chirac backs Sarkozy presidential bid

By Sophie Louet

PARIS (Reuters) - French President Jacques Chirac threw his weight behind Nicolas Sarkozy's presidential bid on Wednesday, overcoming hostility between the pair in a move that could strengthen the right's campaign.

Chirac will step down after 12 years in office following the second round of the election in May but had maintained suspense over whether he would back his ambitious former protege, with whom he has had tense relations for more than a decade.

Sarkozy had indicated he was expecting Chirac's support and failure to secure the president's endorsement could have damaged his credentials as the right's candidate.

In a brief televised statement, Chirac said Sarkozy had been chosen as presidential candidate by the ruling UMP party, a centre right formation that he set up in 2002 and which Sarkozy now leads.

"So it is totally natural that I give him my vote and my support," he said.

Chirac also said that Sarkozy would step down next week as interior minister, the post where he made his name as a law and order hardliner, to focus on his campaign ahead of the first round of the election on April 22.

Sarkozy has consistently led his Socialist rival Segolene Royal in opinion polls which suggest that he would secure a clear victory over her if the two faced each other in the second round of the election on May 6.

But he has faced a growing threat from centrist Francois Bayrou, who is still only third in the polls but who would have a good chance of winning if he made it through to the run-off by rallying the anti-Sarkozy vote.