Global General

France launches regional election

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2010-03-14 21:29

PARIS - The first round of French regional election was launched in 26 regions on Sunday morning.

In 22 regions on the mainland and four others overseas, French people will elect 1,880 new regional councilors.

Most poll in major cities opened from 8:00 local time to 18:00, while in some regions polls will open one or two hours later. The polls will close at 20:00 (1900 GMT) at the latest.

Due to the time lag, poll stations in Guadeloupe, Martinique and French Guiana, three overseas regions in the Caribbean and south America, will open at midday of Paris time.

According to local reports, employment, public transportation and industrial development, are key issues to split the voters' preferences.

Voters will choose along the party lines, which means choosing the president of the party heading the name list is a recognition of the whole team.

A survey published by the TNS Sofres polling institute on Friday revealed that the opposition Socialists gained 31.5 percent approval rates, while the UMP, President Nicolas Sarkozy's ruling party, posted at 29 percent.

Currently, the right-wing Socialist Party controls all but two of the 22 regions in the mainland. This time they are claiming to conquer Corsica and Alsace, the last two strongholds of the ruling right-wing.

The result of the first round is expected in the evening. The first round of elections usually would not produce the winners'list, thus making a second round most likely to happen on March 21.

The regional election is viewed as a critical mid-term test for Sarkozy's presidency. And it somehow will affect the presidential election in 2012.