Paris ( CNN ) -- French presidential frontrunner Francois Hollande vowed Friday to crack down on illegal immigration , as he and incumbent Nicolas Sarkozy battle to win over the public ahead of a second-round vote . Hollande , of the center-left Socialist party , will hold a rally in the central city of Limoges Friday evening , while Sarkozy addresses supporters in Dijon , to the east . The pair face a run-off vote for the presidency on May 6 . Sarkozy received 27.2 % of the vote in the first round of voting last Sunday , just behind Hollande 's 28.6 % . Speaking to French radio station RTL Friday morning , Hollande said that the number of legal economic migrants should be limited and that he wants to `` fight against '' illegal immigration . Immigration has been a key election issue , alongside the struggling economy and high unemployment figures . Hollande 's comments came hours after the two rivals were quizzed on television channel France 2 Thursday night , taking turns to answer journalists ' questions . Hollande , who was first to be put on the spot , said he feels `` confident '' and the political left 's results had been even better than hoped for . `` Nothing is decided until the people have spoken . I have three duties : to put things right in France , to apply justice where it has been missing , and to bring together the French around a great cause -- the young people . '' Sarkozy , who leads the center-right UMP party , defended his record , saying : `` I have been president for five years . I 've tried to protect France with all my might . '' He said predictions of a landslide for the left in the first round had not been borne out , with the far-right National Front leader Marine Le Pen coming third , well ahead of far-left candidate Jean-Luc Melenchon . Since Sunday , both Sarkozy and Hollande have sought to reach out to the 6.5 million people who voted for the National Front , giving it 18 % of the vote . `` They are not from the extreme right , they are expressing themselves through a vote of crisis or of loyalty , '' Sarkozy said on France 2 . `` I would like to say to them that I respect them . When someone suffers or protests , we must listen to them in order to be able to provide them with responses . '' However , Sarkozy rejected any notion of striking a deal with the far-right group in remarks Wednesday . The National Front 's tough line on immigration appears to have struck a chord with many voters . Responding to a question on Thursday 's TV show , Hollande said , `` There are too many foreigners '' in France . `` But that does not mean that we must expel those who are here on our territory . '' Hollande , who has previously avoided that question , said those who are in France legally would be able to remain -- but those who do not have the right to live there would be driven out . Sarkozy said he wanted to cut by half the number of foreigners allowed into the country over the next five years . The reason , he said , is that he wants to welcome them in the right way , `` with housing and employment , and that from now on , before all entries onto French national soil ... an exam on the French language and republican values should be passed . '' Immigrants should have rights and responsibilities equal to those born in France , he said , even if he is opposed to extending them the right to vote . Hollande also addressed France 's position in Europe , saying Germany would have to negotiate on a fiscal pact agreed by the eurozone in order to permit growth . `` It 's not Germany who will decide everything for all of Europe , '' he said . `` We are not just any country in Europe . We are one of the leaders of Europe . '' The two contenders will take part in their first head-to-head televised debate next Wednesday . If elected , Hollande would be France 's first left-wing president since Francois Mitterrand left office in 1995 . Sarkozy has been president since 2007 . CNN 's Saskya Vandoorne contributed to this report .
Election frontrunner Francois Hollande says he wants to combat illegal immigration . President Nicolas Sarkozy says he wants to halve the number of foreigners entering France . The two candidates are locked in a tight race for second place behind Socialist candidate François Bayrou, who is trailing by just over 1 percentage point with less than three weeks until election day. Hollande and Sarkozy appeared on TV to answer journalists ' questions .