French President Nicolas Sarkozy has formally declared he will stand for re-election in the presidential polls on 22 April. Mr Sarkozy's candidacy has never been in doubt but he issued the confirmation during an interview on France's TF1 channel. Mr Sarkozy's main challenger in the election is the Socialist candidate Francois Hollande. Opinion polls suggest Mr Hollande will win both the first round and a run-off.
bbc