Partial results show French left wins regions vote
PARIS ? France's opposition Socialists and their allies handily defeated President Nicolas Sarkozy's conservatives in regional elections Sunday, according to partial official results after a vote that helps set the stage for the 2012 presidential race.
With 80.2 percent of ballots counted, the Socialist Party and its allies won 53.7 percent of the overall national vote, according to the Interior Ministry. The UMP and its allies won 35.2 percent, and the far right National Front 10 percent, the ministry said.
With region-by-region results still coming in, it looked close to the "grand slam" the Socialists were hoping for. Official results showed the conservatives holding on to Alsace but losing control of Corsica. Those were the only two regions run by the right going into the vote, and two closely watched races.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100321/ap_on_bi_ge/eu_france_elections
