France's Far-Right Suffers Setback in Regional Vote

PARIS - Europe’s surging far-right has suffered setbacks recently — in Germany’s eastern state of Saxony, where Chancellor Angela Merckel’s ruling conservatives prevailed, and in France, where the National Rally party did not do as well as expected in the first round of regional elections Sunday.

Far-right leader Marine Le Pen hoped to be celebrating this week. Polls gave her National Rally a shot at controlling at least one of France’s 13 regions for the first time — with budgets running into the hundreds of millions of dollars, and oversight of schools, transport and local economic development. Some considered this election a preview of next year’s presidential vote — which may again pit Le Pen against current incumbent Emmanuel Macron. But Sunday’s results disappointed both politicians. Macron's centrist party fared poorly. And only in the southern Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region is the far-right's candidate, Thierry Mariani, ahead. Avignon University political scientist Christele Lagier said Mariani’s challenge will be the second round — when he faces traditional right rival Renaud Muselier.