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 30 August 2008 16:48 BST

French voters give Sarkozy more bad news in local polls

Monday, 17 Mar 2008 11:43
Bad news for Nicolas Sarkozy
A wave of victories for the Socialist party in the second round of France's municipal elections has handed Nicolas Sarkozy a stinging rebuke at the polls.

The French president's Union Movement Populaire (UMP) party lost the popular vote and dozens of cities and towns across the country, reflecting Mr Sarkozy's plummeting personal approval ratings in recent weeks.

Rheims, Amiens, Caen, Strasbourg and Toulouse were among the cities captured by the left, while its Paris stronghold held out comfortably.

France's second city, Marseilles, proved the only consolation for the UMP as it stayed loyal to the UMP.

Senior figures in the right-wing party have given differing responses to the defeat. Some have pointed to low turnout in the polls – below the 67 per cent low seen in last week's round of voting – but others have admitted some policy changes need to be made as a result.

Mr Sarkozy had kept a low profile during the campaigning as his unpopularity made him an electoral liability and left his prime minister, Francois Fillon, to concede defeat after the results came in.

Mr Fillon pledged to press on with Mr Sarkozy's economic reforms, saying: "You can't change a great country like ours in a few months. Tenacity is needed to reform."

Segolene Royal, who lost to Mr Sarkozy in last year's presidential election, said the vote was a "punishment" for her former rival.End of story


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