Local elections reverse for Sarkozy

Conservative President Nicolas Sarkozy’s party took a drubbing in local elections, seen as a test ahead of next year’s presidential vote, and the far-right National Front left its first footprint in France’s smallest administrative districts.

The opposition Socialist Party was the big winner in the second round of balloting in the nation’s cantons, with nearly 36% of the vote, according to the Interior Ministry, while Mr Sarkozy’s UMP party took 20%.