Chirac Party Leads France Election

French President Jacques Chirac's mainstream right appeared poised to seize control of parliament after a first round of elections that hurt his leftist opponents and could keep the extreme right out of parliament despite Jean-Marie Le Pen's resurgence.

With nearly 98 percent of the ballots counted, the mainstream right won 43.5 percent of the vote in the race for France's 577-seat National Assembly. The mainstream left, which has controlled parliament for five years, had 36 percent, the Interior Ministry said.

Seven weeks after Le Pen stunned the nation by beating out then-Prime Minister Lionel Jospin in a first-round presidential vote and qualifying for the run-off, his anti-immigration party scored about 11.2 percent Sunday - down from nearly 15 percent in a 1997 parliamentary contest.

Le Pen, whose National Front could end up without any parliament seats, said France had "just handed itself over to Jacques Chirac."

A record number of voters stayed home, however, meaning the picture could change after the definitive vote next Sunday, especially if leftists mobilize. Leaders across the political spectrum urged people to vote on June 16, and conservatives were cautious about celebrating.

"The first round is a message," said Chirac's justice minister, Dominique Perben. "The real decisive round is the second round."

Under the electoral system, if no candidate won an outright majority, the top two finishers in each race Sunday advance to the final round next week along with any candidate who received votes equal to at least 12.5 percent of the number of registered voters in a district.

A parliamentary majority for the mainstream right would end five years of unwieldy 'cohabitation' in which Chirac has shared power with his leftist rivals who control the legislature - a situation that has often left the government paralyzed amid partisan bickering.

(China Daily June 11, 2002)