2010 French Regional Elections

On 14 and 21 March 2010, French voters go to the polls to elect 1,880 regional representatives. The Socialist Party currently holds all but two of the 22 regions in Metropolitan France and is campaigning to extend its domination, while President Nicolas Sarkozy’s Union for a Popular Movement (UMP) aims to regain ground.

Voters on the 14 March 2010 delivered a rebuke to the government of President Nicolas Sarkozy, with exit polls showing opposition parties winning an unprecedented share of the vote in the first round of regional elections.

• Primary Source

ESO: Background information: Sarkozy plans reshuffle after poll defeat http://www.europeansources.info/record/sarkozy-plans-reshuffle-after-poll-defeat/

France24, 24.3.10: Sarkozy to address nation after heavy electoral defeat http://www.france24.com/en/20100324-france-sarkozy-speech-regional-carbon-tax-cabinet-reshuffle-strike-election

Wikipedia: French regional elections, 2010 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_regional_elections,_2010

France24, 15.3.10: Socialists triumph over Sarkozy's party in regional elections http://www.france24.com/en/20100314-france-socialist-party-beat-ump-regional-elections-sarkozy

BBC News, 15.3.10: Sarkozy's right-wing UMP facing election defeat http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/8566696.stm

Deutsche Welle, 15.3.10: France's Sarkozy loses out to Socialists in regional elections http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,,5353801,00.html

Spiegel Online International, 12.3.10: A Weary French President Battons Down Hatchets for Tough Regional Elections http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/0,1518,683310,00.html

Spiegel Online International,15.3.10: French Voters Punish President http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/0,1518,683585,00.html

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