Sarkozy’s party loses ground

France: rance’s far-right National Front party has been catapulted anew into political prominence after haunting President Nicolas Sarkozy’s conservatives in the first round of local elections.

According to the French Interior Ministry, with 86 percent of the votes counted, Sarkozy’s centre-right coalition received 32.5 percent of the vote as compared to 48 percent of the vote for left-wing parties, and 15 percent for Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Front, which came very close to defeating conservatives, Reuters reported on Sunday.

Sarkozy’s own party, Union for a Popular Movement (UMP), managed to obtain just 16 percent, barely ahead of the National Front, the polluting institutes stated.

The result bodes ill for Sarkozy’s conservatives ahead of next year’s presidential election in which the French President is expected to face uphill struggle to win a mandate for second five-year term in the face of rising mainstream contenders.

Meanwhile, Le Pen praised her party’s performance in the first round of elections, saying that it was the best result the National Front have ever recorded in cantonal elections, which are not traditionally favorable to her party.

Early returns also show that the Socialist-led left-wing Opposition has won about 25 percent of the vote.

Monday, Presstv