French President Nicolas Sarkozy is to announce his bid for re-election today, setting the stage for what he hopes will be a dramatic comeback against his poll-leading Socialist rival.

Sources in Mr Sarkozy’s office said he would officially confirm his candidacy on TF1 television during its evening news report.

With only 10 weeks before the first round of the presidential vote on April 22, right-wing Mr Sarkozy is lagging in the polls, struggling with image problems and burdened with a moribund economy.

But his team is confident that once officially in the race Mr Sarkozy, a seasoned and charismatic campaigner, will be able to quickly make up ground on Socialist frontrunner Francois Hollande.

Elysee sources said his campaign team was already in place, with Ecology Minister Nathalie Kosciusko-Morizet as spokeswoman and Henri Guaino, Mr Sarkozy’s special adviser, as speechwriter.

Mr Sarkozy, 57, was to hold his first election rally tomorrow in the Alpine town of Annecy and a mass rally on Sunday in the southern port city of Marseille, sources said.

Mr Sarkozy has been laying the groundwork for his run in the last several weeks – portraying himself as a defender of traditional values and a steady hand in dealing with the European economic crisis.

In an interview with French newspaper Le Figaro last week, he made clear he will be pushing a conservative social agenda, vowing to oppose gay marriage and euthanasia and to restrict immigration.

In recent weeks he has also moved to shore up his reformist economic credentials, increasing the sales tax to reduce payroll charges and introducing a 0.1 percent tax on financial transactions. But his efforts so far have not translated into a boost in opinion polls.

An IFOP survey published yesterday found Mr Hollande down by one point but still well ahead with 30 per cent support. Mr Sarkozy trailed with 25.5 per cent – up half a percentage point – in the first round.

Under this forecast, Mr Hollande would be the clear winner in the second round with 57.5 per cent of the vote, against Sarkozy’s 42.5 per cent.

“The game is far from over. The polls, the comments, all this will be wiped away in the three weeks before the election,” Prime Minister Francois Fillon, a long-time Sarkozy ally, told Le Monde on Monday.

“He has maintained his close relationship with the French people. During the campaign he will find the words and ways to reach out to them.” Mr Hollande said Mr Sarkozy’s announcement would make little difference in public opinion.