Sarkozy loses heavily in French regional polls

Reuters

DEFEAT: France's President Nicolas Sarkozy leaves a polling booth before casting his ballot at a Paris polling station in the second round of regional elections.

Sarkozy dealt major electoral blow

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French President Nicolas Sarkozy's centre-right party suffered a comprehensive defeat in regional elections on Sunday, but pledged to push on with reform plans before the 2012 presidential race.

Early results showed that the Socialist party and its allies won 52 percent of the vote at a national level, the centre-right 35 percent and the far-right National Front 10 percent.

The UMP held on to power in the eastern region of Alsace and in the Indian Ocean island of Reunion, but all of the remaining 24 regions looked set to go to the left after one of the worst defeats for the centre-right in decades.

"This evening's result confirms the success of the left," Prime Minister Francois Fillon said in a televised address.

"That is a disappointment. I assume my share of responsibility," he said, adding that he would discuss the consequences with Sarkozy on Monday at a meeting where the two were expected to agree on a limited cabinet reshuffle.

A jobless rate of more than 10 percent and feeble economic growth took their toll on the government, while a string of recent controversies ranging from accusations of nepotism to a debate on national identity also eroded Sarkozy's popularity.

He has already promised a pause in reforms next year. The heavy loss in the last mid-term election before 2012 could make it more difficult to win support for potentially painful cuts in the big projects that remain in 2010.

Sarkozy is planning a major overhaul of the pensions system, including raising the retirement age, and he also needs to rein in France's public deficit, which is expected to reach 8.2 percent of gross domestic product in 2010.

REFORM PLEDGE

Fillon said employment and growth would be the "absolute priority" for the government and pledged to push ahead with the reforms promised by Sarkozy when he came to power in 2007.

"You don't govern a big country like France according to regional elections, but by sticking to the course fixed by national elections," he said.

The powerful CGT union has already called for a day of protest over wages and pensions on Tuesday. Other groups such as farmers may also see the defeat as an opportunity to put pressure on the government.

Party leaders including UMP secretary general Xavier Bertrand said the result was consistent with past mid-term elections in which sitting governments have been punished.

But the opposition Socialists said the result showed Sarkozy had to change course.

"The French people have spoken: They must be heard. Listening to what the French people have to say means a profound change in policies," said Socialist leader Martine Aubry.

Aubry has established some sense of order in her chronically divided party since taking over late in 2008, and struck up an alliance for Sunday's second round election with a newly resurgent Green party and a far-left bloc.

Just as worrying for the government has been increasingly open criticism of the leadership from within the UMP, where some well-known figures including former prime minister Alain Juppe have called for a change of course.

"We can't hide from this," said Jean-Francois Cope, head of the UMP parliamentary group and one of Sarkozy's main rivals in the party. "This is obviously a real defeat for us. You can't beat about the bush. That's the reality of it."

- Reuters