On the conservative side, Jacques Chirac now officially supports Sarkozy, but he may also secretly encourage his most loyal supporters to vote for Bayrou, even if there is no love lost between the two men. On the left, the social democratic wing of the Socialist party, which backed Dominique Strauss-Kahn against Royal, may be tempted to align with Bayrou, too, owing to the prospect of a post-electoral alliance between the center left and the center right.
让贝鲁的潜力如此强大的原因是法国民众对两大主要候选人大范围的保留意见正在影响到激进份子和政客们的算计。在保守派一边，希拉克已经正式支持萨尔科奇，但是他可能也暗地里鼓励他最为忠诚的支持者们投贝鲁的票，即使这在两个人之间不会丧失情义。在左翼一边，社会党的社会民主派曾经支持斯特劳斯·卡恩而反对罗雅尔，他们也可能由于在大选结束后中左翼和中右翼有可能结盟而受到诱惑与贝鲁结盟。