Regional election poses crucial test for French far right
The Hindu
Polls had suggested that Marine Le Pen's party had some momentum, with legitimate ambitions to win control of leadership councils in one or more of France's 12 mainland regions
A decisive, second round of voting in France's regional elections on Sunday is being scrutinised as a litmus test of whether the anti-immigration far right is gaining in acceptability before the French Presidential election next year. Marine Le Pen, leader of the far-right National Rally, has spent a decade trying to cast off the extremist reputation that made the party anathema to many French voters in its previous guise as the National Front. A failure to win control of a region Sunday would mark a stinging setback for the rebranded party. There were plenty of hand sanitiser bottles but not many voters at a polling station in Saint-Quentin in northern France as Sunday's elections got under way. Paris voting stations that sometimes see lines stood largely empty, other than a few elderly voters. Turnout nationwide was less than 13% by midday.More Related News