PARIS - Conservative leader Nicolas Sarkozy finished first in the opening round of France's presidential election on Sunday and will meet Socialist rival Segolene Royal in a run-off vote, initial returns showed.

With 40 percent of the vote counted, Sarkozy had 30.5 percent of the vote, Royal was in second place on 24.3 percent and centrist Francois Bayrou in third place on 18.2 percent.

Far-right leader Jean-Marie Le Pen, who stunned France by coming second in the 2002 election, looked set to finish a distant fourth with around 11.5 percent.

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The initial returns were in line with four television polls.

As expected, no one won an absolute majority, so the top two candidates will go forward to a second-round ballot on May 6.

"I want to unite France behind a new French dream ... where no one is left behind," a relaxed, smiling Sarkozy told hundreds of cheering supporters gathered in a Paris hall.

On the other side of the Seine river, jubilant Socialist fans at their party headquarters waved red roses at news their champion had made it through to the run-off.

Initial estimates pointed to a huge turnout of up to 85 percent, which if confirmed would be a record for a first-round vote in more than 40 years and stand in a sharp contrast to the 2002 ballot when the turnout was just 73 percent.

The low abstention rate attests to the huge interest in the election, which will usher in a new generation of political leaders and bring the curtain down on 12 years of rule by President Jacques Chirac, 74, who is retiring.

Sarkozy, a tough-talking former interior minister, led Royal and the other 10 candidates in opinion polls throughout the long campaign. But neither was on course to obtain an absolute majority, making a run-off between them likely on May 6.

Campaigning was dominated by calls for change after 12 years of conservative rule by Chirac, which have left one of the world's wealthiest nations divided and in need of economic reform, job creation and a dose of self belief.

Sarkozy, 52, has promised a break with the past, and a crackdown on crime and illegal immigration. Royal, 53, has pledged to re-unite the country and to build a "fairer and stronger" France, in which all citizens would be equal.

Voter turnout was more than 31 percent at 1000 GMT, the highest rate at this stage since 1981 and about 10 percentage points higher than at the same time in the last presidential election in 2002, the Interior Ministry said.

The brisk voting followed a big rise in voter registration before the election and reflected widespread concern that voter apathy could lead to a another shock after far-right leader Jean-Marie Le Pen reached the second-round run-off in 2002.

Final opinion polls suggested a third of the 44.5 million voters were not sure of their choice at the last minute, giving hope to third-placed centrist Francois Bayrou and Le Pen, who was lying fourth in most surveys.

"I want it to be a Sarkozy-Segolene run off," Laurence Rouquette, a 40-year-old antiques dealer, said after voting in a sunny and wealthy Paris suburb. "Usually I vote for the smaller candidates but this time I voted for one of the main ones."

Sarkozy smiled as he voted with his wife Cecilia, a joint appearance that seemed intended to hit back at rivals' insinuations that their marriage is in trouble.

"What is very important is that the French come to vote in large numbers, that it is a great moment for French democracy," he told reporters in the Neuilly suburb of Paris.

The run-up to the election was largely calm, but two bombs exploded overnight in the Corsican port town of Bastia, injuring one passer-by. The explosions followed clashes at a separatist demonstration on the island in which five police were wounded.

The campaign has focused as much on personality as policy although the more than 8 percent unemployment rate and disappointing economic growth have been major issues, just two years after riots erupted in deprived housing estates.

Royal has vowed to raise the monthly minimum wage and pensions and to create 500,000 jobs for young people, but says she will not raise overall taxes. Rivals say she is incompetent.

Sarkozy, the son of a Hungarian immigrant, has taken a tough line on crime and is regarded as the most business-friendly candidate by financial markets. He is widely considered closer to the United States than the other candidates, but is portrayed as authoritarian by his rivals.

Bayrou, 55, hopes voters disillusioned with the traditional right-left split in French politics will turn to him in the hope of securing a real break with the past.