Sarkozy under pressure as regional vote begins
Source: Agencies |
March 15, 2010, Monday
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FRANCE was electing new regional governments yesterday in a vote that is seen by many as a referendum on President Nicolas Sarkozy's 2 1/2 years in power.
Leftists are riding high into the elections, which look likely to end in a setback for Sarkozy's conservatives, blamed by many voters for failing to protect their jobs amid the economic downturn.
France's struggle to integrate its millions of Muslims has also come to the fore in the campaign for 1,880 seats on regional governments in mainland France and in overseas regions from the Caribbean to the Indian Ocean.
The opposition Socialists won control of 20 of the 22 regions in mainland France at the last election in 2004. Sarkozy's conservative UMP party had hoped to win some of those back in this election, but polls suggest the Socialist-led left will win the overwhelming majority of regions.
Socialist leader Martine Aubry, whose party long has suffered from division and lack of a new vision, even said she hoped for a "grand slam" - leftist domination of all the regions.
Abstention looked likely to be high, with polls last week predicting only about a 50 percent turnout.
Since Sarkozy's supporters are showing little interest in the campaign, those voters who do cast ballots to elect new region governments are likely to do so to express discontent with a president who pledged when he was elected to turn the country into an economic powerhouse.
The fallout from France's worst recession since World War II is still pinching industries from car-making to hotels. Joblessness is at its highest level in a decade, more than 10 percent. Workers in a number of factories have locked up managers to protest layoffs in recent months, and scattered strikes hit the country last week.
Yesterday's first round of voting will only give a partial picture of what the regional leadership will look like, ahead of the decisive March 21 runoff.
Leftists are riding high into the elections, which look likely to end in a setback for Sarkozy's conservatives, blamed by many voters for failing to protect their jobs amid the economic downturn.
France's struggle to integrate its millions of Muslims has also come to the fore in the campaign for 1,880 seats on regional governments in mainland France and in overseas regions from the Caribbean to the Indian Ocean.
The opposition Socialists won control of 20 of the 22 regions in mainland France at the last election in 2004. Sarkozy's conservative UMP party had hoped to win some of those back in this election, but polls suggest the Socialist-led left will win the overwhelming majority of regions.
Socialist leader Martine Aubry, whose party long has suffered from division and lack of a new vision, even said she hoped for a "grand slam" - leftist domination of all the regions.
Abstention looked likely to be high, with polls last week predicting only about a 50 percent turnout.
Since Sarkozy's supporters are showing little interest in the campaign, those voters who do cast ballots to elect new region governments are likely to do so to express discontent with a president who pledged when he was elected to turn the country into an economic powerhouse.
The fallout from France's worst recession since World War II is still pinching industries from car-making to hotels. Joblessness is at its highest level in a decade, more than 10 percent. Workers in a number of factories have locked up managers to protest layoffs in recent months, and scattered strikes hit the country last week.
Yesterday's first round of voting will only give a partial picture of what the regional leadership will look like, ahead of the decisive March 21 runoff.
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