PARIS (Reuters) - Nicolas Sarkozy faces Francois Hollande in a "moment of truth" television debate on Wednesday that could be the French president's last chance to avoid defeat at the hands of his Socialist challenger in Sunday's election runoff.

The conservative president and his centre-left rival have been at each other's throats for months, with Sarkozy accusing Hollande of being incompetent and a liar, and Hollande calling the incumbent a "failed president" and "a nasty piece of work".