French far-right National Front party leads first round of local elections

But Sunday’s voting was only a first round, and some mainstream voters may steer away from far-right candidates in the decisive December 13 runoff.

It is the first time elections have been held under a state of emergency implemented after November’s Paris massacre in which 130 people were killed by Islamic extremists.

French President Francois Hollande has seen his personal ratings surge as a result of his hardline approach since the Paris attacks.

 A possible Republican-Socialist alliance to limit FN gains in the second round had previously been mooted, but Mr. Sarkozy, the former president, ruled this out on Sunday.

Five years ago the party received about 11 percent of the popular vote in regional elections.

Le Pen’s party also won more than 40 percent of the vote in the southeastern region of Provence-Alpes-Cote-d’Azur.

This is an unprecedented breakthrough for the far right.

Marine Le Pen’s FN party was ahead in at least six of France’s 13 regions, with exit polls showing the party attracted more than 30% of the vote – eight points ahead of President François Hollande’s governing Socialist Party.

In May past year, the party caused shockwaves when it came up top in France’s European elections with 25.41% of the vote – enough to win 23 seats in the European Parliament.

“There is a choice between two visions of France”, Valls said Monday night on the TV station TF1 – that of traditional parties and that of the extreme right “which divides the French, tries to pit one against the other”.

Opinion polls suggested the popularity of the anti-immigration, anti-EU National Front has increased since the attacks.

Opponents say the National Front criticizes without offering solutions.

France 24, the global broadcaster, has more detail on the vote and reactions to the projected result.

By removing underperforming candidates from contention, the Socialists hope that their supporters will switch their votes to Sarkozy’s party and block Le Pen’s FN from winning in the key regions. But his party, which now runs almost all of France’s regions, has seen its electoral support shrivel as the government has failed to reduce a 10 percent joblessness rate or to invigorate the economy.

The Paris attacks will have played a part in this but it would be wrong to ascribe Ms Le Pen’s triumph exclusively to fears of terrorism. Her eye is on the 2017 presidential and general elections.