that Le Pen explicitly stated on radio (on France-Info on Tuesday) that he expected to face off Royal in the second round. He said that he saw Sarkozy "se jospiniser" (jospinifying).

There's some element of wishful thinking in that, as Royal offers him, obviously, his best shot at a strong score in a second round, but as it happens to fit with what I think myself...

In the long run, we're all dead. John Maynard Keynes