France's Socialists try to extend dominance for '12

The Socialists refrained from trumpeting their success in Sunday's vote. After all, the Socialists trounced the conservatives in the 2004 regional vote, only to lose the 2007 presidential election three years later after a bitter battle within the party to nominate their own candidate.

Final figures released by the Interior Ministry early Monday morning showed the Socialist-led left with 53.5 percent with the UMP-led conservatives at 39.9 percent amid record abstention.

Although widely seen as a referendum on Sarkozy's 34 months in power, 53 percent stayed away from the polls. That is much higher than in 2004, when abstention was 39 percent on the first round.

Xavier Bertrand, the pugnacious general secretary of Sarkozy's UMP, warned the left not to engage in “triumphalism.”

“There is a new election that is starting tonight,” he said as results poured in Sunday. Like other conservatives, Bertrand said the low turnout meant the vote did not represent his party's true power.

However, a snap poll released Monday predicted more bad news for the conservatives Sunday when the second round is held. The survey by CSA polling firm for the Le Parisen newspaper and Europe-1 radio predicted that the left would emerge even stronger after the runoff with 55 percent and that the conservatives would do even worse than in the first round, in what is the last major election before the presidential vote in just over two years time.

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