It is the final week of campaigning before the first round of the French presidential elections.

Opinion polls point to a change of president and a hefty win by the socialist challenger Francois Hollande.

Another left wing candidate, the fiery populist Jean Luc Melanchon, has also been drawing huge and enthusiastic crowds.

So can the French left heal its divisions, and finally retake the presidency?

In the first of a special series on the elections, Europe correspondent Chris Morris reports.

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