- 35.7% the vote, in yesterday’s French elections, for the Socialist Party under Martine Aubry
- 11.6% the vote for the far-right National Front Party, headed by Marine LePen, a strong showing
- 20.3% the vote for Nicolas Sarkozy’s Union for a Popular Majority Party, a weak outcome source
- ยป Sarkozy may be sweating right now: The election had a low turnout at just 45% of the nation’s voters (still, turnout like that trounces the U.S. average for non-Presidential elections). While the threat to President Sarkozy posed by the Socialists is well known, as polls show him trailing their yet unknown candidate in his reelection effort, the big takeaway concern may be the rising power of the National Front Party under Marine Le Pen. The far-right nationalist party took 2 seats in the 102-seat general council, and have effectively flexed more political muscle much quicker than most thought they could.