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| French Conservatives Ahead in Parliamentary Elections |
| Paris, 09.06.2007 |
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| French President Nicolas Sarkozy's Union for a Popular Movement (UMP) and its allies scored a resounding victory in Sunday's first round of the general elections.
Early estimates by several institutes, based on a partial vote count, show the UMP and its right-wing allies gaining 45.6 to 46.4 per cent of the vote Sunday, putting it in a position to grab an overwhelming majority of the 577 seats in the National Assembly, the lower house of the French Parliament, in next Sunday's second round.
Bildunterschrift: Großansicht des Bildes mit der Bildunterschrift: Socialist Segolene Royal hopes to lead her party after the election
According to the same estimates, the opposition Socialist Party and its left-wing allies look set to take 35.7 per cent of the vote, while the centrist Democratic Movement of Francois Bayrou was seen to draw only 7.3 per cent.
In terms of seats, forecasts based on the first round show the UMP and allied parties poised to win 383 to 501 of the 577 seats on June 17.
Estimates give the opposition Socialist Party and its allies only 69 to 185 seats next Sunday, with the Democratic Movement credited with 1 to 4 seats.
Sarkozy gets free hand
Bildunterschrift: Großansicht des Bildes mit der Bildunterschrift: French President Nicolas Sarkozy has every reason to smile
If the estimates are confirmed, the election will provide Sarkozy with a free hand to carry out his wide-ranging reforms.
On the other hand, it will force the Socialists to reconsider their strategies, policies and, above all, a change in their leadership.
Socialist Party leaders, including defeated presidential candidate Segolene Royal, had campaigned on a single issue, preventing Sarkozy from gaining too much power.
Low voter turnout
Bildunterschrift: Großansicht des Bildes mit der Bildunterschrift: French Prime Minister Francois Fillon's cabinet will depend on the election outcome
The vote was marked by a record number of abstentions, with an estimated 40 per cent of France's 44.5 million registered voters staying away from the polls on Sunday.
/www.dw-world.de
On May 6, nearly 85 per cent of France's registered voters took part in the second round of the presidential election, which was won by Sarkozy.
The high rate of abstentions almost certainly hurt the left-wing parties the most, as many voters apparently thought, because of polls, that the game was up.
DW staff (win)
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