30 Big French Cities Fall to the Opposition

For Sarkozy, Vote Is 'Evening of Defeat'

PARIS, March 16 -- Opposition parties took over at least 30 major cities from President Nicolas Sarkozy's ruling party in local elections Sunday that were viewed by many voters and analysts as a barometer of public frustration with the style and policies of his government.

Early results indicated the opposition Socialist Party won a swath of cities controlled by Sarkozy's right-of-center Union for a Popular Movement, or UMP, from Strasbourg in the west to the southern city of Toulouse, headquarters to Airbus and a political bastion of the right for the past 37 years.

In the tightest race in the country, the UMP incumbent appeared to have narrowly retained his seat as mayor in the port city of Marseille. If Marseille had been captured by the Socialists, the leftist party would have swept the largest cities in the country. The leftists easily retained control of Paris and Lyon.

"This is an evening of defeat," said Jean-Francois Cope, parliamentary leader of the UMP.

Sarkozy warned his party last week that it should heed the public's message in Sunday's balloting, the runoff from the first round of local elections last Sunday.

"Once the definitive results are in after the second round, all political leaders -- myself first of all -- will have to draw the lessons from the election," Sarkozy said. "I will naturally take into account what they expressed."

"Clearly in the big cities, the votes were against the policies of the government," said Damien Philippot, research manager at the Ifop polling organization.

Ten months after he was elected on promises to improve France's domestic economy and its image abroad, Sarkozy's approval ratings have plummeted to 37 percent. Voters have expressed anger that he flaunts a lavish personal lifestyle at a time when the economy is faltering and consumer confidence is at record low. Many French also were dismayed that he appeared to be more caught up in his personal affairs than the affairs of state. Within months of his election, he divorced his wife and married a model-turned-singer he'd known for less than 12 weeks.

The French newspaper Le Monde reported recently that Sarkozy's advisers were attempting to tone down the president's high-profile personal life and portray him as a more serious leader. The French media also have reported that Sarkozy is expected to announce some minor cabinet changes in the coming week.

Polling analysts said Sunday's elections show the deep divisions in voters' attitudes toward government policies.

Less than a year after Sarkozy came to office on a reform platform, "the majority of the French people do not want the government to speed the path of reform," said Adelaide Zulfikarpasic, research manager of the Ipsos polling group. In a recent survey, she said, 56 percent of those polled said they wanted the pace of reform to slow or remain the same, while 39 percent said they wanted the government to increase the pace.

Two of Sarkozy's cabinet members -- Economy Minister Christine Lagarde and Education Minister Xavier Darcos -- appeared to have lost their local races Sunday, according to preliminary returns.

In the French political system, most national political officials also hold local mayoral or council positions. Though cabinet ministers are not required to give up their national positions if they lose local elections, the defeats would be considered political liabilities for Sarkozy, according to political analysts.

Paris Mayor Bertrand Delanoe won reelection Sunday, positioning him to become a strong contender to replace failed Socialist presidential candidate S¿gol¿ne Royal as the party's premier candidate in the next presidential election.