Erstellt am: 3. 5. 2012 - 16:00 Uhr

Countdown in France

Reality Check: French presidential elections, press freedom day, The Scream sells for record price, TU Wien in financial trouble, boom in virtual personal networks

Just a few more days, and we'll know who is to be the next president of France. The balance is swinging and it's a bold commentator who will venture a guess as to who the eventual winner will be.

Far right leader, Marine Le Pen, who came third in the first round, says she won't endorse Sarkozy or Hollande, which in theory throws a large chunk of the electorate wide open. Le Pen says she will cast a blank ballot, and has not held back in her criticism of Sarkozy. However, it's hard to imagine the hard-line, far righters voting for Hollande, however disillusioned they may be with Sarkozy.

The fear for Sarkozy is that the far right will follow Le Pen's example and boycott the vote or cast blank ballots. With Hollande sitting a comfortable 6 to 10 points ahead in most polls, Sarkozy is keen to mobilize the right wing who may just stay at home on Sunday. To this end, Sarkozy is accusing the polls of lying - but in what appears to be an increasingly desperate tone, he also accuses Hollande of lying - and anyone else who says Hollande is likely to win.

However, although Hollande appears to be enjoying a lead in the polls, the interpretation of the polls and of the TV debate varies enormously according to which media source you follow. While each side is still backing their man, the left wing press is now also getting twitchy about the polls - or perhaps they are just keen to keep the momentum among the liberal voters. Hollande faces the risk that looking too good in the polls a this stage could backfire, with people not bothering to vote, assuming he is going to win anyway.

We'll have to wait until Sunday to work out what is really going on. In the meantime, both candidates would certainly concur that there are lies, damned lies, and pre-election opinion polls.

Press Freedom Day

Today is the 19th World Press Freedom day. It's a day declared by the United Nations in 1993 "to celebrate the fundamental principles of press freedom, to evaluate press freedom around the world, to defend the media from attacks on their independence and to pay tribute to journalists who have lost their lives in the exercise of their profession".

The President of Reporters Without Borders, Dr. Rubina Moehring, talks to Riem Higazi about how press freedom and democracy are intrinsically linked.

The Scream

The Scream by Edvard Munch breaks all records at an art auction in New York. Riem Higazi looks at what makes a picture worth over 81 million Euros - and who might be the investor behind the sale.

Financial problems facing the TU

Vienna's Technical University is facing possible closure in the face of financial difficulties. Education expert, Gudrun Biffl, looks at the seriousness and the implications of the situation.

Virtual Private Networks

Dave Dempsey explains the boom in the use of virtual private networks by young people.

FM4 Reality Check

Monday to Friday from 12.00 to 14.00, and after the show via Podcast or fm4.orf.at/realitycheck.