There was another vote today - the second round of French regional elections. After a first round last week which gave a strong showing of the left last week, this week's vote confirmed the massive anti-Sarkozy results of the first round.
The left, following a strong anti-right vote in 2004, already controlled 20 out of 22 regions (regions have responsibilities for education, transport and local economic development). Tonight, they managed not only to hold on to all these gains, but to gain another region, leaving just one held by the right.
This is a very real message against the hard-right campaign by Sarkozy (the right played on the usual cards: insecurity, immigration, national identity), and a vote of confidence for local leadership by the socialists and allies - the greens had a very strong showing in the first round and allied with the left for the second round.
Sarkozy still has all the tools to govern (he's still president for 2 years, and he still has a majority in the national assembly), but he's been weakened - and hopefully defanged - by an unambiguous message against him.
(to be updated)
Nicolas Sarkozy's Right-wing UMP suffers crushing defeat in French elections
Nicolas Sarkozy will seek to relaunch his embattled presidency on Monday after his Right-wing party suffered a crushing defeat in regional elections that were depicted as a test of his popularity.
Mr Sarkozy’s Union for a Popular Movement (UMP), was on Sunday night on course to lose all but one of the 22 regions in mainland France, according to exit polls. The UMP’s sole consolation besides holding Alsace was taking the Indian Ocean island of Reunion in Sunday's election for regional councils that are in charge of transport, education and cultural policy.
As polling stations closed, initial estimates gave the Socialists and Greens some 54 per cent of the vote, Mr Sarkozy’s Right-wing UMP 36 per cent and the far-right National Front just under nine per cent. The poll, which saw record low turn-out, was the lowest score for the Right in more than three decades.