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PARIS — President Francois Hollande’s Socialist Party coasted to a parliamentary majority in France’s legislative elections Sunday, appearing to guarantee passage of his proposals designed to reinvigorate the economy and help the poor more easily weather Europe’s stubborn debt crisis.
The Socialist victory, complementing Hollande’s election as president in May, avoided the deadlock that would have occurred had a blocking majority gone to the conservative Union for a Popular Movement, the coalition of former president Nicolas Sarkozy.
The majority strengthens Hollande’s hand in tense negotiations with Germany over ways to relieve pressure against the euro, the common currency of 17 European nations.
