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PARIS — Conservative President Nicolas Sarkozy’s party took a drubbing in Sunday’s local elections, seen as a test ahead of next year’s presidential vote, and the far-right National Front left its first footprint in France’s smallest administrative districts.
The opposition Socialist Party was the big winner in the second round of balloting in the nation’s cantons, with nearly 36 percent of the vote, according to the Interior Ministry, while Sarkozy’s UMP party took 20 percent. The National Front had 11.7 percent.
The unpopular Sarkozy has been attacked for cost-cutting measures, including in national education. He is perceived as being too cozy with corporate interests.
