Sarkozy foe Villepin drops out of French election race

Former Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin bowed out of France's presidential race on Thursday after failing to get the required number of official signatures to register his candidacy, a move that could benefit President Nicolas Sarkozy.

Villepin, a conservative rival of Sarkozy who quit the UMP party last year to publish his own centre-right manifesto, had been credited with between 1 and 2 percent of voting intentions for the first round ballot on April 22. (Reuters)