FRANCE: President Francois Hollande and former president Nicolas Sarkozy vote in first round of parliamentary election

Record ID: 328872

  • Title: FRANCE: President Francois Hollande and former president Nicolas Sarkozy vote in first round of parliamentary election
  • Date: 11th June 2012
  • Summary: PARIS, FRANCE (JUNE 10, 2012) (REUTERS) EXTERIOR OF THE JEAN LA FONTAINE HIGH SCHOOL, POLLING BOOTH WHERE FORMER FRENCH PRESIDENT NICOLAS SARKOZY VOTES
  • Embargoed: 26th June 2012 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: France
  • Country: France
  • Topics: Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA6Z2QZJKSMVORCOU313K89D02E
  • Story Text: French President Francois Hollande and former president Nicolas Sarkozy cast their ballots in the first round of France's parliamentary vote on Sunday (June 10), in an election tipped give the Left control of parliament and consolidate Hollande's grip on power as he seeks to ease the pain of a debt crisis in Europe.
    Hollande braved the rain, unaccompanied by partner Valerie Trierweiler, to cast his vote in Tulle, a town 500 km south of Paris that has been his political base since the 1980s.
    Sarkozy and wife Carla Bruni voted in Paris' plush 16th district.
    At stake in the vote for the 577-seat National Assembly, the lower house of parliament, is the new Socialist leader's ability to rule unfettered as he seeks to reboot Europe's second-largest economy and push other euro zone leaders to combat stagnation After two rounds of voting to pick a president, there were signs of fatigue as another two-stage ballot got underway, with the interior ministry reporting a marginally lower turnout rate at midday than in the last parliamentary contest in 2007 (21.06 percent this time versus 22.56 percent in 2007).
    A second and final round of voting takes place on June 17, determining the makeup of an assembly that Hollande, at the start of a five-year term, hopes will cooperate in the implementation of his tax-and-spend program.
    Barring an upset, the main question hanging over Hollande is whether the Socialists will win control of the National Assembly on their own, or will have to depend on Greens and more radical left-wingers to secure the 289 seats needed for a majority.
    Votingat 8 p.m., when early returns should give an indication of the size of what polls predict will be a victory for the Socialists and their allies.
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