PARIS, March 18, 2008 - Victorious left-wing leaders stepped up
demands Monday for President Nicolas Sarkozy to make big changes in
government, after inflicting heavy losses on his right-wing camp in French
local elections.
   Sarkozy's UMP party lost dozens of towns to the opposition Socialists on
Sunday, including the prized cities Toulouse and Strasbourg, in a vote seen as
a "punishment" for the style and content of his first 10 months in power.
   The ruling right sought to play down the scale of its defeat, with Prime
Minister Francois Fillon attributing it to low turnout, at 62 percent, and
voter impatience with the pace of Sarkozy's reforms.
   But Socialist leader Francois Hollande called for the reforming president,
whose poll ratings have plunged more than 20 points since the start of the
year, to "heed the message" sent by French voters.
   "I expect a reshuffle of the president's behaviour and his policies,"
Hollande told RTL radio, calling for immediate measures to boost small
pensions and the minimum wage.
   The French press described the results as a "disaster", a "disavowal" or a
"rout" -- and a clear warning shot for the government.
   "Mister President: somebody needs to tell you this: you well and truly lost
this local election," wrote the left-wing Liberation. "The Sarkozy spell has
broken in the space of a few months."
   The Socialist Party took an estimated 49 percent of Sunday's vote, against
47.5 percent for the UMP.
   The left now controls 58 percent of towns with more than 30,000
inhabitants, after winning 40 from the right, including right-wing bastions
Metz and Reims, though Sarkozy's camp kept its grip on the second city of

 1 2 Next >