Grote nederlaag Chirac in regionale verkiezingen (en)

French voters have delivered a stinging rebuke of their President Jacques Chirac and prime minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin at the ballot box in the second round of regional elections.

Mr Chirac's centre-right UMP party polled 37 percent of the vote, compared to 50 percent for the opposition centre-left socialists (PS). The socialists will now control 20 out of 22 metropolitain areas.

Although the extreme-right Front National did not increase their share of the vote, they confirmed their status as France's third political party with 13 percent.

Turnout was relatively high - at 66 percent.

Protest vote

The vote is being construed as a protest vote against Mr Raffarin, whose government has been pushing through a package of pension and welfare reforms.

Mr Raffarin yesterday reaffirmed his commitment to these reforms, but is under increasing pressure and may lose his job in a reshuffle that could come as soon as today (29 March).

An opinion poll reported in the French press this morning showed that 59 percent want Mr Raffarin to step down or be sacked.

But Mr Chirac's dilemma is that the most obvious replacement for Mr Raffarin is the popular interior minister, Nicolas Sarkozy, who has made no secret of also wanting Mr Chirac's job.

The leader of the UMP party, Alain Juppé, described the result as "a serious setback for the Government". The Socialist leader Francois Hollande was more personal, saying that the election was a "serious rebuff" for Mr Chirac.

Among the high-profile casualties was the President of the European Convention, Valéry Giscard d'Estaing, who lost the Presidency of the Auvergne region.