FRANCE: France's left-wing opposition crushed President Jacques Chirac's ruling conservatives in a regional election yesterday, paving the way for a government reshuffle and raising doubts about the pace of economic reforms.
Exit polls showed the Socialist Party and its allies, buoyed by discontent with government cost-cutting, had won about 50 per cent of the votes and control of most of the 26 regional councils.
The centre-right won around 37 per cent of the votes in the second round run-offs, which showed a huge swing of support away from the governing UMP party following a wave of protests and strikes over its reforms. The government said it would not abandon reforms intended to cut the soaring public finance deficit, but analysts said the defeat could weaken its resolve to go as far or as fast as planned in welfare reforms.