French far right beaten in key regional elections: Exit polls

Exit polls predict disappointing results for far-right leader Marine Le Pen’s party and for President Macron’s LREM.

France’s far right has failed to win any region while the centrist ruling party of President Emmanuel Macron suffered another poll drubbing in the second round of regional elections again marked by a woeful turnout, according to exit polls. Marine Le Pen’s National Rally (RN) failed to realise its main ambition of winning the Provence-Alpes-Cote d’Azur (PACA) region that includes Marseille and Nice. Victory there would have given the RN control of a region for the first time and was seen by the party as the best prospect for bringing credibility to Le Pen’s claim that it was fit for power ahead of the 2022 presidential election.