PARIS (Sputnik) — The exit polls provided by French polling organization Ifop-Fudicial to the media suggest the opposition conservatives of former president Nicolas Sarkozy has finished first in five of the country’s 13 mainland regions, with the ruling Socialists of president Francois Holland capturing three, iTele reported.
#Regionales2015 is a total joke. #FN was robbed of their victory by corrupt elites. France is now a confirmed banana republic
— Alt Right (@_AltRight_) December 13, 2015
The Republican candidate Xavier Bertrand beat National Front’s Marine Le Pen to victory in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais-Picardia region with 57.5 percent of the vote, compared to her 42.5 per cent, according to initial results.
Far-right #FN failed to win any French regions, but political parties must still begin soul-searching about long-term strategy to counter it
— Angelique Chrisafis (@achrisafis) December 13, 2015
The turnout was nearing 60 percent when some of the polling stations were closing at 7pm local time (18:00 GMT) — about 10 percent higher than during last week’s first round, according to the national statistics office INSEE. The remaining ballot stations closed at 8 pm.
The day after the biggest ever UN deal is concluded in your country by your govt is not the best time to be an anti-establishment party. #FN
— Michiel van Hulten (@mvanhulten) December 13, 2015
In the first round, on December 6, FN gained almost 28 percent of the regional vote and ranked first in six of the 13 regions, according to the Interior Ministry data.
Sarcozy’s Republicans party polled second in the election. The third place was taken by the Socialist Party, who said it would withdraw its candidates from two key regions in hope to defer the votes from FN to a candidate from The Republicans.
Looks like the far-right #FN won no regions in the 2nd round of the #Frenchelections. Surge in turnout and tactical anti-FN voting
— Rainbow Murray (@RainbowMurray) December 13, 2015
