French blues in wake of second round of local elections and arrival of third force

Marine Le Pen was able to claim, with some justice , that the second round of France's local elections at the weekend saw the real embedding in the country's political landscape of a "third political force". Her Front National (FN) doubled its local seat tally to 934 and looked likely to take control of eleven sizeable municipalities. Much of its success was in the east and west in areas with high unemployment and immigration.

And the result served to confirm the fears of mainstream politicians and election observers about the likely gains that will be made continent-wide by the eurosceptical far-right in next month’s European elections.

Like the European elections, French local elections – 36,000 municipalities – have always been as much about kicking the government of the day as they are about who occupies the mairie or what to do about the trade deal with Mauritania. That alienation was emphasised by the low 62 per cent turnout. And so President François Hollande, enjoying the lowest popularity levels of any president in France's 56-year-old Fifth Republic, has responded with the traditional gesture to acknowledge that reality – the sacking of the prime minister, Jean-Marc Ayrault. Interior Minister Manuel Valls is expected to get the nod.

The party’s left responded to the result by urging Hollande to abandon EU-inspired deficit trimming and pro-business reforms – tensions within the party are likely to increase.

Notwithstanding the FN leap forward, the real winners of the election were the centre-right UMP – estimates showed 49 per cent of voters had supported the party, 42 per cent, Mr Hollande's Socialists, and 9 per cent the FN. The Socialists lost control of 150 towns to the UMP, including Limoges, which the left had held since 1912, and cities such as Toulouse, Angers and Quimper. The only consolation was the holding of the major prize of Paris by the Socialists' Anne Hidalgo, the capital's first woman mayor.