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| France holds local election, as National Front eyes gains | France holds local election, as National Front eyes gains |
| (about 11 hours later) | |
| People in France are voting in local elections in which the far-right National Front (FN) party is expected to score big gains. | |
| Voters are electing representatives in 101 departments, or counties, charged with issues like schools and welfare. | Voters are electing representatives in 101 departments, or counties, charged with issues like schools and welfare. |
| Sunday's first round will be followed by a second in a week's time. | Sunday's first round will be followed by a second in a week's time. |
| Polls suggest that the Socialists of President Francois Hollande will suffer another setback, after defeats in municipal and EU elections last year. | Polls suggest that the Socialists of President Francois Hollande will suffer another setback, after defeats in municipal and EU elections last year. |
| Some polls indicate that the FN, led by Marine Le Pen, could come top in the first round. | |
| Serious contender | |
| By late afternoon on Sunday, turnout stood at almost 43%, higher than in the last local election. | |
| The BBC's Hugh Schofield in Paris says France's changing electoral map means the vote is a three-horse race. | The BBC's Hugh Schofield in Paris says France's changing electoral map means the vote is a three-horse race. |
| The Socialists and the centre-right UMP have been joined by the FN, not as a freakish upstart but a serious contender for power, our correspondent adds. | |
| Ms Le Pen is hoping the elections will build up momentum ahead of her expected bid for the presidency in 2017. | |
| The FN has benefited from economic stagnation, high unemployment, and general hostility to mainstream parties. | The FN has benefited from economic stagnation, high unemployment, and general hostility to mainstream parties. |
| The governing Socialists and their left-wing allies are expected to take the biggest hit, losing many of the 61 departments they hold. | The governing Socialists and their left-wing allies are expected to take the biggest hit, losing many of the 61 departments they hold. |
| But the FN is also taking voters from the UMP, which has struggled to unify behind a single leader since the defeat of Mr Sarkozy in the 2012 presidential election. | |
| Voters for the rival parties are expected to combine in the second round on 29 March to keep the far-right out. | |
| But Ms Le Pen is confident that this will turn out to be another major moment in her growing challenge to France's political establishment, says the BBC's Hugh Schofield. | |
| For the first time, voters in these elections are not choosing single candidates - but pairs of candidates - one man and one woman - in order to enforce strict gender equality in local politics. | |
| Analysis: Lucy Williamson, BBC News, Aisne | Analysis: Lucy Williamson, BBC News, Aisne |
| Apathy has traditionally favoured the FN, but France's two-round election system has tended to work against it. The second round of voting has in the past acted as a brake on the party - with voters from left and right uniting against it. | Apathy has traditionally favoured the FN, but France's two-round election system has tended to work against it. The second round of voting has in the past acted as a brake on the party - with voters from left and right uniting against it. |
| But with apathy and frustration growing, how much longer will those voters turn out to keep the FN from power? | But with apathy and frustration growing, how much longer will those voters turn out to keep the FN from power? |
| A step nearer power for the National Front? | A step nearer power for the National Front? |