France Local Elections: Hollande’s Party (PS) Trounced by Sarkaozy (UMP) and Le Pen (FN)

Jon Blogosphere, Politics

In local French elections over the weekend, Conservatives Hold Off National Front while PS, the party of president Francois Hollande finished a distant third.
France’s centre-right UMP party and its allies have taken first place in the first round of local elections, partial results show.
Projections suggest that the far-right National Front – despite strong gains – came second with about 25% of the vote, behind the conservatives on 30%.
President Francois Hollande’s governing Socialists came third with about 20%.
Voters are electing representatives in 101 departments, or counties, charged with issues like schools and welfare.
The results mean the second round on 29 March will see a run-off between the UMP and the FN in many constituencies.

This post was published at Global Economic Analysis on Sunday, March 22, 2015.