Slap on the wrist for Sarkozy

Across the country the President’s centre-right UMP (Union pour un Mouvement Populaire) party has fallen behind the socialists' Parti Socialiste (PS), and voter turnout was at an all-time low, rising barely above the 50% mark – see below for PACA figures*.

For the PACA Region the UMP candidate Thierry Mariani polled 26.6% against current PACA Region president, the socialist Michel Vauzelle who is on 25.8%, one of the worst results in recent elections for a president. This can be but a crumb of comfort for the beleaguered UMP whose overall results were bolstered by a healthy 30.69% of the vote in the Alpes-Maritimes where the party is led by Gaston Franco and Dominique Estrosi-Sassone. Le Pen’s far right National Front was hard on the heels of the traditional parties with 20.29%. The Europe-Ecologie party had a disappointing result compared to the rest of France, with their candidate Laurence Vichnievsky barely scraping the 11% mark. It is likely they will team up with the socialists for the second round.

Sarkozy’s popularity is at all time low (36%) and yet it is difficult for outsiders here to understand why. France’s economy has held up better than others through the crisis, with no big banks having to be rescued as they were in the UK, and there is little evidence of a wave of home repossessions due to unpaid mortgages. Most commentators site the rising unemployment level (now over 10%) as employers struggle with a sclerotic labour system crushed by the burden of heavy social charges (according to the weekly Economist these amount to as much as 45% of a salary in France compared to 13% in Britain).

Paradoxically, the socialists remain deeply divided on a national level and yet are extremely strong in the regions, controlling 20 out of the 22 regional councils. The main parties will be busy negotiating with their smaller rivals this week ahead of the decisive second round this weekend. CL

*Voter turnout in PACA: Alpes-Maritimes (43.18%); Alpes-de-Haut-Provences (51.83%); Bouches-du-Rhône (44.11%); Hautes-Alpes (49.79%); Var (44.36%) ; and Vaucluse (48.2%). Source: Nice-Matin