Ex-President Nicolas Sarkozy’s conservative UMP and its allies led voting in the first round of French local elections, exit polls suggest.
They pushed the far-right National Front into second, with President Francois Hollande’s ruling Socialists in third.
Voters are electing representatives in 101 departments, or counties, charged with issues like schools and welfare.
A second round of voting will take place in a week’s time.
Mr Hollande’s third place in the estimated results, released after polling closed on Sunday, follow on from defeats in municipal and EU elections last year.
Various exit polls put the UMP and its partners in first place – ahead of Marine Le Pen’s National Front (FN).
Some polls ahead of the vote had indicated that the far-right, anti-immigration FN could come top in the first round.
Ms Le Pen had been hoping the elections would build momentum ahead of her expected bid for the presidency in 2017.
Socialist Prime Minister Manuel Valls welcomed the news that the FN had scored less that some had predicted, saying the results showed it was not the strongest force in French politics.
However, Ms Le Pen called for Mr Valls to resign, celebrating what she said was a “massive vote” for her party, exceeding its performance in the European Parliament elections.
Source-BBC
