Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Front is leading in six out of 12 regions in the first round of regional elections, Reuters reports citing exit polls.Le Pen and her niece, Marion Marechal-Le Pen, are both set to take more than 40 percent of the vote in the north and southeast of the country, TV exit polls showed on Sunday.
Assemblies in the 13 regions of metropolitan France and in four overseas territories were being elected. Results for Paris are not yet in.
The Ifop, OpinionWay and Ipsos project polling agencies predict that the National Front won between 27 and 30 percent of the ballots in Sunday’s voting, followed by former President Nicolas Sarkozy’s party, The Republicans, and President Francois Hollande’s governing Socialists.
If confirmed, it would be the first time the National Front has captured any of France’s regions as well as boost Marine Le Pen’s chances for the presidential election in 2017.
The far-right National Front (FN), led by Marine Le Pen, has been expected to secure at least two seats: one in the northern region of North-Pas-de-Calais, and another in the southern Provence-Alpes-Cote d’Azur, where Le Pen’s niece Marion is running.
Voters from the east of France, from Alsace to Burgundy, as well as from parts of the center and south, are also expected to choose La Pen and her party.
Since the Paris attacks, Marine Le Pen has been focusing her attention on security and the immigration crisis. Her strong emphasis on these issues in the final days of campaigning has attracted a significant number of new supporters.
A rather high abstention rate of nearly 50 percent is also expected to influence the returns.
Gearoid O Colmain, a French political analyst, believes that Le Pen has been successful due to her rhetoric, which is quite clear for the French.
“It [National Front] speaks the language people understand,” he said. “People say ‘She seems to be the only person is talking sense around here.’ When she says we need to support Assad [to fight terrorism] – she is right.”
The elections will include two rounds, with a candidate needing to secure more than 50 percent of the vote to win in the first round, and at least 10 percent to reach the second round, which takes place if no candidate gets more than 50 percent in the first.
Regional elections are regarded as a launch pad for the presidential elections in 2017, and a win could significantly boost a candidate’s chances.