French voters began voting today in key municipal elections in which the Gaullist RPR party of PresidentJacques Chirac looks set to lose its key bastion of Paris.
Opinion polls suggest that the Socialist candidate Bertrand Delanoe - a virtual unknown a year ago - will become the capital'snext mayor, sweeping out a generation of right-wing leadersdemoralised by charges of corruption and institutionalised misuse ofpower.
The Paris vote is the centre-piece of municipal elections in36,000 French cities, towns and villages staged over two rounds -today and next Sunday.
A victory in the capital would give the Socialists a powerfulboost in the countdown to parliamentary and presidential elections ayear from now.
The Paris Hotel de Ville, or city hall, has been in the hands ofthe Rally for the Republic (RPR) since 1977 when Mr Chirac became thecapital's first elected mayor in over a century - a position hethen used to build his political base and launch his bid for thepresidency in 1995.
Aside from Paris, the left is expected to fare well in severalother key cities including Toulouse, Lyon, Reims, Saint Etienne,Nancy and Dijon - all currently held by the right.
The town of Tulle - in Mr Chirac's home territory of Correze incentral France - also looks likely to fall to the Socialist partysecretary, Francois Hollande.
Another key development will be the election of thousands of new female councillors thanks to a new law that requires parties tofield equal numbers of male and female candidates in all but thesmallest municipalities.
Focus will also be on the fortunes of the far right, which since1995 has won control of four towns in the Mediterranean region:Toulon, Orange, Vitrolles and Marignane.
Polls suggest the far right can only hope to retain Marignaneand Orange.
AFP