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| Far-right Front National denied first place in local elections in France | Far-right Front National denied first place in local elections in France |
| (1 day later) | |
| France’s mainstream parties gave a collective – if qualified – sigh of relief on Sunday after they appeared to have seen off a threat from the far-right Front National. | France’s mainstream parties gave a collective – if qualified – sigh of relief on Sunday after they appeared to have seen off a threat from the far-right Front National. |
| Opinion surveys in the run up to Sunday’s vote had suggested the FN, led by Marine Le Pen, could win up to 30% of votes, marginally ahead of former president Nicolas Sarkozy’s centre right UMP but leaving the governing Parti Socialiste trailing in third place. | Opinion surveys in the run up to Sunday’s vote had suggested the FN, led by Marine Le Pen, could win up to 30% of votes, marginally ahead of former president Nicolas Sarkozy’s centre right UMP but leaving the governing Parti Socialiste trailing in third place. |
| Instead, early estimates released as the last of the polling stations closed on Sunday evening suggested the UMP had won a convincing lead and the PS had narrowly avoided total humiliation. | Instead, early estimates released as the last of the polling stations closed on Sunday evening suggested the UMP had won a convincing lead and the PS had narrowly avoided total humiliation. |
| Provisional figures gave the opposition centre right UMP party around 37%, president François Hollande’s PS 27% and the FN between 23 and 26%. The results will not be confirmed until later Sunday night or Monday morning, but several independent opinion polls confirmed the PS had narrowly defeated the FN. | Provisional figures gave the opposition centre right UMP party around 37%, president François Hollande’s PS 27% and the FN between 23 and 26%. The results will not be confirmed until later Sunday night or Monday morning, but several independent opinion polls confirmed the PS had narrowly defeated the FN. |
| Related: Far-right Front National: from protest vote to 'first party in France'? | Related: Far-right Front National: from protest vote to 'first party in France'? |
| While Sunday’s result will be a blow for the FN and its anti-immigrant, anti-euro and anti-European Union stance, it firmly establishes the party as the third key player on the French political landscape and will encourage Le Pen for the 2017 presidential elections. | While Sunday’s result will be a blow for the FN and its anti-immigrant, anti-euro and anti-European Union stance, it firmly establishes the party as the third key player on the French political landscape and will encourage Le Pen for the 2017 presidential elections. |
| Afterwards, prime minister Manuel Valls said it was an “honourable score” for the Socialist government and said it proved the “extreme right is not the first political force in France”. However, he was forced to admit that support for the FN was still “too strong” and abstention still too high. | Afterwards, prime minister Manuel Valls said it was an “honourable score” for the Socialist government and said it proved the “extreme right is not the first political force in France”. However, he was forced to admit that support for the FN was still “too strong” and abstention still too high. |
| “The total of votes for the left is the same as those for the right. This means nothing has been decided during this first round vote, and the left must unify,” Valls said. | “The total of votes for the left is the same as those for the right. This means nothing has been decided during this first round vote, and the left must unify,” Valls said. |
| He appealed for voters to turn out in strength for the second round vote next Sunday. | He appealed for voters to turn out in strength for the second round vote next Sunday. |
| Sarkozy ruled out any agreement “either at national or local level” with the FN in areas where the UMP was in a runoff with the PS for the second vote. | Sarkozy ruled out any agreement “either at national or local level” with the FN in areas where the UMP was in a runoff with the PS for the second vote. |
| However, in what is seen as a “neither-nor” stance, he said his party would not call for supporters to vote for the PS or other left-wing parties in areas where this would defeat the FN. | However, in what is seen as a “neither-nor” stance, he said his party would not call for supporters to vote for the PS or other left-wing parties in areas where this would defeat the FN. |
| Marine Le Pen hid her disappointment, telling supporters at the party headquarters at Nanterre just outside Paris: “For those who want to get rid of the PS, the FN is key.” | Marine Le Pen hid her disappointment, telling supporters at the party headquarters at Nanterre just outside Paris: “For those who want to get rid of the PS, the FN is key.” |
| France’s departmental elections, characterised by high abstention, have rarely provoked such excitement and suspense. | France’s departmental elections, characterised by high abstention, have rarely provoked such excitement and suspense. |
| It was feared that Hollande and the PS, as well as other leftwing parties, had completely alienated core and key voters from France’s blue-collar working classes. | It was feared that Hollande and the PS, as well as other leftwing parties, had completely alienated core and key voters from France’s blue-collar working classes. |
| Various analysts have tried to explain the growing popularity of the FN in France, though many argue people are voting far right by default because of disappointment and disillusionment with the mainstream parties. | Various analysts have tried to explain the growing popularity of the FN in France, though many argue people are voting far right by default because of disappointment and disillusionment with the mainstream parties. |
| Political science professor Laurent Bouvet, of the thinktank the Jean-Jaurès Foundation, which advises the PS and aims to “promote the study of workers’ movements and international socialism and promote democratic and humanist ideas”, told The Observer the French left was suffering after abandoning blue-collar workers. | Political science professor Laurent Bouvet, of the thinktank the Jean-Jaurès Foundation, which advises the PS and aims to “promote the study of workers’ movements and international socialism and promote democratic and humanist ideas”, told The Observer the French left was suffering after abandoning blue-collar workers. |
| Related: ‘Abandoned’ French working class ready to punish left’s neglect by voting for far right | Related: ‘Abandoned’ French working class ready to punish left’s neglect by voting for far right |
| He blamed the rise in support for the FN on an identity crisis among the country’s working classes. | He blamed the rise in support for the FN on an identity crisis among the country’s working classes. |
| Christophe Guilluy, a geographer and one of Hollande’s advisors, views the phenomenon as geographic. | Christophe Guilluy, a geographer and one of Hollande’s advisors, views the phenomenon as geographic. |
| In his books Guilluy argues the country divides into “La France metropolitaine”, made up of the 25 biggest towns/cities and their banlieues (suburbs), representing 10% of communes, 40% of the population and two thirds of France’s gross domestic product, and “La France périphérique”, made up of the rest of the country including rural villages, peri-urban areas and middle-size towns. | |
| While those in the former, including the outer city banlieues, have flourished under globalisation, those “new working classes in la France périphérique” including “native French...and those from old immigration waves” are pushed out and “forgotten”, he argues. | |
| Bouvet, whose book l’Insécurité Culturelle has caused a storm in France, described the FN as a “danger for the Republic”. | Bouvet, whose book l’Insécurité Culturelle has caused a storm in France, described the FN as a “danger for the Republic”. |
| • This article was amended on 23 March 2015 to correct some French misspellings. |