Take all you hear with a grain of salt unless you live there..
Personaly, neither of them did much for me. I don't know if either of them is better, but on a gut feeling I'd rather see him than her as president.
She is just gushing with the mother-figure bleeding heart vibe. And she's socialist, although that tag doesn't mean anymore than any other tag politicians wear anywhere else.
I'd rather have Chirac on the political dance stage, than Sarkozy. Chirac was heartwarmingly ridicule, whereas Sarkozy will be more of a nasty little muppet sort of comic.