Nicolas Sarkozy's opposition conservative UMP party and its allies led France's first round of local elections, exit polls showed on Sunday, beating Marine Le Pen's far-right National Front.The UMP secured 29 percent of the vote, ahead of the National Front’s 26.3 percent, according to the exit polls, which are typically reliable in France. Of the total 2054 local voting districts, the UMP and its conservative allies took 111 seats outright, ahead of the left's 36 and four for the FN. The remainder will be decided in next Sunday's second round.
The result are a significant setback for Le Pen, who had hoped her anti-immigrant, anti-euro party would emerge top in the first round, boosting her ambitions to win presidential elections due in 2017. Comments to taglines82@gmail.com
