Prodi To Join France's Royal At Campaign Rally

Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi will support France's Segolene Royal at a major rally this week.

Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi will support France's Segolene Royal at a major rally this week, the presidential candidate said on Tuesday, bringing in the second European leader in a week to bolster her bid.

Socialist Royal, who is lagging her rightist rival Nicolas Sarkozy in polls ahead of the run-off on May 6, said Prodi had offered to join her in the southeastern city of Lyon on Friday.

"It's a very important contribution because we may have to rebuild Europe on a new basis," Royal said of Prodi, who heads a centre-left government in Italy.

Both Sarkozy and Royal need to woo supporters of the centrist candidate who came third in Sunday's first round poll, Francois Bayrou, if they want to triumph in the run-off.

Prodi had praised Bayrou as a "courageous European" ahead of the first round vote. On Monday, he urged Royal to forge an alliance with the centrist, saying: "This would give some clarity and order to the French political scene."

Royal reiterated an offer to Bayrou on Tuesday to take part in a public debate to see if they shared common ground on core policy. Bayrou is due to hold a news conference on Wednesday but allies say he is unlikely to back either candidate.

Prodi's trip to Lyon comes just a week after Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero praised Royal's qualities at a campaign event in the southern town of Toulouse.