Sarkozy's son splits with French leader's own anointed candidate in mayoral race

French President Nicolas Sarkozy's home base was in political disarray a month before municipal elections, with his son breaking ranks Sunday with the president's favored candidate for City Hall.

The race in the posh Paris suburb of Neuilly-sur-Seine _ where Sarkozy long served as mayor _ has shaped up as a test for the president, whose poll numbers have fallen recently and whose once-hearty appetite for reform has shrunk.

The elections in around 36,000 French cities, towns and villages are the first nationwide polls since Sarkozy was elected president last May _ and some in his conservative UMP party fear its candidates will be punished by voters who are …