Regional elections were held in
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
on 14 and 21 March 2010. At stake were the presidencies of each of France's 26 ''
région
France is divided into eighteen administrative regions (french: régions, singular ), of which thirteen are located in metropolitan France (in Europe), while the other five are overseas regions (not to be confused with the overseas collect ...
s'', which, though they do not have legislative autonomy, manage sizable budgets.
The elections resulted in significant gains for the
French Socialist Party (PS) and its allies, who went on to control 21 of the 22 regions of
Metropolitan France
Metropolitan France (french: France métropolitaine or ''la Métropole''), also known as European France (french: Territoire européen de la France) is the area of France which is geographically in Europe. This collective name for the European ...
.
Situation
Following the 2004 elections, which saw an historic victory of the left, largely led by the PS, only
Alsace
Alsace (, ; ; Low Alemannic German/ gsw-FR, Elsàss ; german: Elsass ; la, Alsatia) is a cultural region and a territorial collectivity in eastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine next to Germany and Switzerland. In 2020, it had ...
and
Corsica
Corsica ( , Upper , Southern ; it, Corsica; ; french: Corse ; lij, Còrsega; sc, Còssiga) is an island in the Mediterranean Sea and one of the 18 regions of France. It is the fourth-largest island in the Mediterranean and lies southeast of ...
were still run by the UMP. The left made gains in the national level in 2007 (presidential and legislative), and performed strongly in the 2008
municipal
A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate.
The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...
and
cantonal
The 26 cantons of Switzerland (german: Kanton; french: canton ; it, cantone; Sursilvan and Surmiran: ; Vallader and Puter: ; Sutsilvan: ; Rumantsch Grischun: ) are the member states of the Swiss Confederation. The nucleus of the Swiss Con ...
elections. In metropolitan France, all incumbent left-wing Presidents are running for a second term in an election which generally favours popular incumbents and anti-government voting. Yet, the left is divided between the PS and
Europe Ecology, which performed very strongly in the
2009 European elections.
The right, principally the
UMP and its allies, were victorious in the 2007
presidential and
legislative
A legislature is an assembly with the authority to make laws for a political entity such as a country or city. They are often contrasted with the executive and judicial powers of government.
Laws enacted by legislatures are usually known as p ...
elections and also in the
2009 European elections. The right is favoured by its unity, notably by its new alliances with
Philippe de Villiers
Philippe Marie Jean Joseph Le Jolis de Villiers de Saintignon, known as Philippe de Villiers (; born 25 March 1949), is a French entrepreneur, politician and novelist.Main Website Retrieved 4 March 2009. He is the founder of the Puy du Fou theme ...
'
Movement for France
The Movement for France (french: Mouvement pour la France, MPF; ) was a conservative, soft Eurosceptic and Gaullist French political party, founded on 20 November 1994, with a marked regional stronghold in the Vendée. It was led by Philippe de ...
and
Frédéric Nihous
Frédéric Nihous (born 15 August 1967) is a French politician from the Hunting, Fishing, Nature, Traditions (CPNT) party. He was a candidate for the 2007 French presidential election, but was eliminated in the first round of balloting. He wa ...
'
Hunting, Fishing, Nature, Tradition
The Rurality Movement (, LMR), formerly Hunting, Fishing, Nature and Traditions (french: Chasse, pêche, nature et traditions; ; CPNT, ) is an agrarianist political party in France that aims to defend the traditional values of rural France. I ...
. Yet, with this newfound unity, the right lacks a large vote reserve in the eventuality of a second round, where it could count only on partial support from supporters of the centrist
MoDem
A modulator-demodulator or modem is a computer hardware device that converts data from a digital format into a format suitable for an analog transmission medium such as telephone or radio. A modem transmits data by Modulation#Digital modulati ...
and the far-right
FN. In addition, the growing unpopularity of President
Nicolas Sarkozy
Nicolas Paul Stéphane Sarközy de Nagy-Bocsa (; ; born 28 January 1955) is a French politician who served as President of France from 2007 to 2012.
Born in Paris, he is of Hungarian, Greek Jewish, and French origin. Mayor of Neuilly-sur-Se ...
could have hurt the right in an election where voters tend to sanction the incumbent government in Paris.
On the far-right, The National Front has been weakened by its previous electoral failures since 2007, but nevertheless remains a significant force in French politics.
Main political parties and strategies
Left
The parties to the left of the PS were divided over their electoral strategy. On one side, the far-left and the
New Anticapitalist Party
The New Anticapitalist Party (french: Nouveau Parti anticapitaliste , abbreviated NPA) is a far-left political party in France founded in February 2009. The party launched with 9,200 members and was intended to unify the fractured movements o ...
(NPA) refuse to participate in an executive led by the PS; but the
French Communist Party
The French Communist Party (french: Parti communiste français, ''PCF'' ; ) is a political party in France which advocates the principles of communism. The PCF is a member of the Party of the European Left, and its MEPs sit in the European Unit ...
(PCF) wishes to continue its participation in a number of executives led by the PS.
The PCF finally decided to continue the
Left Front with the
Left Party (PG), first tested in the 2009 European elections. These lists would be independent in the first round, but would support (or merge) with a Socialist-led list in the runoff on the condition that the centrist MoDem doesn't do likewise. Yet, the final decision on the matter was transferred to the regional party members. In 17 of 22 regions, members approved the decision of an expanded Left Front; but in five regions, PCF members opted for a first-round alliance with the PS. These regions are
Burgundy
Burgundy (; french: link=no, Bourgogne ) is a historical territory and former administrative region and province of east-central France. The province was once home to the Dukes of Burgundy from the early 11th until the late 15th century. The c ...
,
Champagne-Ardenne
Champagne-Ardenne () is a former administrative region of France, located in the northeast of the country, bordering Belgium. Mostly corresponding to the historic province of Champagne, the region is known for its sparkling white wine of th ...
,
Lorraine
Lorraine , also , , ; Lorrain: ''Louréne''; Lorraine Franconian: ''Lottringe''; german: Lothringen ; lb, Loutrengen; nl, Lotharingen is a cultural and historical region in Northeastern France, now located in the administrative region of Gr ...
,
Lower Normandy
Lower Normandy (french: Basse-Normandie, ; nrf, Basse-Normaundie) is a former administrative region of France. On 1 January 2016, Lower and Upper Normandy merged becoming one region called Normandy.
Geography
The region included three departme ...
and
Brittany
Brittany (; french: link=no, Bretagne ; br, Breizh, or ; Gallo language, Gallo: ''Bertaèyn'' ) is a peninsula, Historical region, historical country and cultural area in the west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known ...
. In these regions, however, dissident Communists joined with the NPA and the PG to create independent lists for the first round.
The NPA's members voted on the party's strategy in December, and the independence strategy of the majority received support from only 36.3% of members, with 31.5% voting to continue discussions with the PCF-PG in the aim of obtaining a deal, and 28.5% rejected all talks with the FG. Finally, the NPA's executive opted to support independent lists of the "left of the left" in all regions in the first round and agreed to 'technical fusions' with other left-wing lists in the runoff (such as Left Front lists), without agreeing to participate in regional executives. In 11 regions, the NPA will fight alone, notably against a Left Front list. However, in three regions –
Languedoc-Roussillon
Languedoc-Roussillon (; oc, Lengadòc-Rosselhon ; ca, Llenguadoc-Rosselló) is a former administrative region of France. On 1 January 2016, it joined with the region of Midi-Pyrénées to become Occitania. It comprised five departments, and ...
,
Limousin
Limousin (; oc, Lemosin ) is a former administrative region of southwest-central France. On 1 January 2016, it became part of the new administrative region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine. It comprised three departments: Corrèze, Creuse, and Haute-Vienn ...
and
Pays de la Loire
Pays de la Loire (; ; br, Broioù al Liger) is one of the 18 regions of France, in the west of the mainland. It was created in the 1950s to serve as a zone of influence for its capital, Nantes, one of a handful of "balancing metropolises" ().
...
, the NPA opted to support a Left Front list by the first round. Finally, in three of the five regions (except Brittany and Lorraine) where the PCF opted to support the PS by the first round, lists with the support of the PG were formed.
Contrarily to 2004, when it had run common lists with the
LCR, the
Workers' Struggle is running independent lists in all regions in 2010.
The
Socialist Party
Socialist Party is the name of many different political parties around the world. All of these parties claim to uphold some form of socialism, though they may have very different interpretations of what "socialism" means. Statistically, most of th ...
was not able to renew the unity of the left behind it by the first round like in 2004. It received some support from dissident ecologists, as well as the support of the
French Communist Party
The French Communist Party (french: Parti communiste français, ''PCF'' ; ) is a political party in France which advocates the principles of communism. The PCF is a member of the Party of the European Left, and its MEPs sit in the European Unit ...
(PCF) in four regions (but not the support of the PCF's ally, the PG). It does have the support of the
Left Radical Party
The Radical Party of the Left (french: Parti radical de gauche, PRG) is a social-liberal political party in France. A party in the Radical tradition, since 1972 the PRG was a close ally of the major party of the centre-left in France, the Soc ...
in all regions except Brittany. In
Poitou-Charentes
Poitou-Charentes (; oc, Peitau-Charantas; Poitevin-Saintongese: ) is a former administrative region on the southwest coast of France. It is part of the new region Nouvelle-Aquitaine. It comprises four departments: Charente, Charente-Maritime, D ...
,
Ségolène Royal
Marie-Ségolène Royal (; born 22 September 1953) is a French politician who was the Socialist Party candidate for the Presidency of France in the 2007 election.
Royal was president of the Poitou-Charentes Regional Council from 2004 to 2014 ...
integrated five MoDem candidates on her lists.
All the party's incumbents, except for the controversial
Georges Frêche
Georges Frêche (July 9, 1938 – October 24, 2010) was a French politician. He served as President of the Languedoc-Roussillon Region from 2004 until his death: prior to that, he had been mayor of Montpellier for 27 years, and was also a fo ...
(already expelled from the party in 2005), were re-nominated. The PS, with
Hélène Mandroux
Hélène Mandroux-Colas (born 1 December 1940) is a French politician. A member of the Socialist Party (PS) since 1982, her career in Montpellier debuted in Georges Frêche's municipal administration. Frêche gave her important responsibilities ...
, will oppose
Georges Frêche
Georges Frêche (July 9, 1938 – October 24, 2010) was a French politician. He served as President of the Languedoc-Roussillon Region from 2004 until his death: prior to that, he had been mayor of Montpellier for 27 years, and was also a fo ...
's list in
Languedoc-Roussillon
Languedoc-Roussillon (; oc, Lengadòc-Rosselhon ; ca, Llenguadoc-Rosselló) is a former administrative region of France. On 1 January 2016, it joined with the region of Midi-Pyrénées to become Occitania. It comprised five departments, and ...
.
Ecologists
Strong from its excellent result in the European elections, the
Europe Ecology coalition was renewed around
the Greens The Greens or Greens may refer to:
Current political parties
* Australian Greens, also known as ''The Greens''
* Greens of Andorra
* Greens of Bosnia and Herzegovina
* Greens of Burkina
* Greens (Greece)
* Greens of Montenegro
*Greens of Serbia
*G ...
and associated parties and movements. Europe Ecology will run independently in all regions, with the intention of supporting the left in runoffs. However, the party's ultimate goal would be to wrest control of a major region, such as
Île-de-France
, timezone1 = CET
, utc_offset1 = +01:00
, timezone1_DST = CEST
, utc_offset1_DST = +02:00
, blank_name_sec1 = Gross regional product
, blank_info_sec1 = Ranked 1st
, bla ...
from the PS. The coalition's candidates include the researcher
Philippe Meirieu, magistrate
Laurence Vichnievsky
Laurence Vichnievsky (born 5 February 1955 in Boulogne-Billancourt, Hauts-de-Seine) is a French magistrate and politician who has been serving as a member of the French National Assembly since the 2017 elections. She is a member of the Democratic ...
, the rural activist
François Dufour or Augustin Legrand of the homeless' association ''les Enfants de Don Quichotte''.
The
Independent Ecological Alliance (AEI), after winning 3.6% in the European elections, is running independent lists in 10 regions. The AEI signed electoral deals with
Europe Ecology in
Alsace
Alsace (, ; ; Low Alemannic German/ gsw-FR, Elsàss ; german: Elsass ; la, Alsatia) is a cultural region and a territorial collectivity in eastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine next to Germany and Switzerland. In 2020, it had ...
and
Midi-Pyrénées
Midi-Pyrénées (; oc, Miègjorn-Pirenèus or ; es, Mediodía-Pirineos) is a former administrative region of France. Since 1 January 2016, it has been part of the new region of Occitania. It was the largest region of Metropolitan France by are ...
, with the MoDem in
Auvergne
Auvergne (; ; oc, label=Occitan, Auvèrnhe or ) is a former administrative region in central France, comprising the four departments of Allier, Puy-de-Dôme, Cantal and Haute-Loire. Since 1 January 2016, it has been part of the new region Auverg ...
,
Franche-Comté
Franche-Comté (, ; ; Frainc-Comtou: ''Fraintche-Comtè''; frp, Franche-Comtât; also german: Freigrafschaft; es, Franco Condado; all ) is a cultural and historical region of eastern France. It is composed of the modern departments of Doubs, ...
,
Pays de la Loire
Pays de la Loire (; ; br, Broioù al Liger) is one of the 18 regions of France, in the west of the mainland. It was created in the 1950s to serve as a zone of influence for its capital, Nantes, one of a handful of "balancing metropolises" ().
...
and
Poitou-Charentes
Poitou-Charentes (; oc, Peitau-Charantas; Poitevin-Saintongese: ) is a former administrative region on the southwest coast of France. It is part of the new region Nouvelle-Aquitaine. It comprises four departments: Charente, Charente-Maritime, D ...
.
Corinne Lepage
Corinne Dominique Marguerite Lepage (born 11 May 1951) is a French politician. She served as French Minister of the Environment in the Alain Juppé cabinets 1 and II 1995–1997 and as Member of the European Parliament (MEP) 2009–2014 for t ...
's
Cap21
The Citizenship, Action, Participation for the 21st Century (french: Citoyenneté, action, participation pour le e siècle) was a minor green liberal political party in France, founded by Corinne Lepage in 1996 as a political reflection club.
...
, despite being a component of the MoDem, the party ended up supporting
Europe Ecology over the MoDem.
Centre
After the deceiving result of the European elections,
François Bayrou
François René Jean Lucien Bayrou (; born 25 May 1951) is a French politician who has presided over the Democratic Movement (MoDem) since he founded it in 2007. A centrist, he was a candidate in the 2002, 2007 and 2012 presidential elections. ...
's
MoDem
A modulator-demodulator or modem is a computer hardware device that converts data from a digital format into a format suitable for an analog transmission medium such as telephone or radio. A modem transmits data by Modulation#Digital modulati ...
decided to run autonomous lists in all regions by the first round but chose to clarify its runoff strategy only after the first round. However, due to Bayrou's strong opposition to
Nicolas Sarkozy
Nicolas Paul Stéphane Sarközy de Nagy-Bocsa (; ; born 28 January 1955) is a French politician who served as President of France from 2007 to 2012.
Born in Paris, he is of Hungarian, Greek Jewish, and French origin. Mayor of Neuilly-sur-Se ...
, it is deemed unlikely that any MoDem lists will merge with UMP lists for the runoffs.
The Presidential Majority
Nicolas Sarkozy
Nicolas Paul Stéphane Sarközy de Nagy-Bocsa (; ; born 28 January 1955) is a French politician who served as President of France from 2007 to 2012.
Born in Paris, he is of Hungarian, Greek Jewish, and French origin. Mayor of Neuilly-sur-Se ...
was successful in his attempts to push for the unity of all the
Presidential Majority by the first round around the
Union for a Popular Movement
The Union for a Popular Movement (french: link=no, Union pour un mouvement populaire, ; UMP, ) was a centre-right political party in France that was one of the two major contemporary political parties in France along with the centre-left Social ...
(UMP) and its allies, notably the
New Centre
The Centrists (french: Les Centristes, LC), formerly known as New Centre (''Nouveau Centre'', NC) and European Social Liberal Party (''Parti Social Libéral Européen'', PSLE), is a centre-right political party in France formed by the members of ...
and the
Movement for France
The Movement for France (french: Mouvement pour la France, MPF; ) was a conservative, soft Eurosceptic and Gaullist French political party, founded on 20 November 1994, with a marked regional stronghold in the Vendée. It was led by Philippe de ...
. Three cabinet ministers and five secretaries of states are leading regional lists, and eight other cabinet members are present on the majority's lists.
Régionales : les ministres sur le front
28 January 2010
The New Centre
The Centrists (french: Les Centristes, LC), formerly known as New Centre (''Nouveau Centre'', NC) and European Social Liberal Party (''Parti Social Libéral Européen'', PSLE), is a centre-right political party in France formed by the members of ...
obtained the top candidacy in Burgundy
Burgundy (; french: link=no, Bourgogne ) is a historical territory and former administrative region and province of east-central France. The province was once home to the Dukes of Burgundy from the early 11th until the late 15th century. The c ...
(with François Sauvadet
François Sauvadet (born 20 April 1953) is a French journalist and politician of the Union of Democrats and Independents (UDI) who has been serving as the president of the Côte-d'Or department in eastern France since 2008.
Early career
Sauva ...
) and Nord-Pas-de-Calais
Nord-Pas-de-Calais (); pcd, Nord-Pas-Calés); is a former administrative region of France. Since 1 January 2016, it has been part of the new region Hauts-de-France. It consisted of the departments of Nord and Pas-de-Calais. Nord-Pas-de-Cala ...
(with Valérie Létard
Valérie Létard (born 13 October 1962 in Orchies, Nord) is a French politician of the Union of Democrats and Independents (UDI) who served as Secretary of State for Solidarity in the government of François Fillon from 2007 to 2010.
Politic ...
), but not in Lower Normandy
Lower Normandy (french: Basse-Normandie, ; nrf, Basse-Normaundie) is a former administrative region of France. On 1 January 2016, Lower and Upper Normandy merged becoming one region called Normandy.
Geography
The region included three departme ...
.
Despite the right's relative unity, there are a number of small dissidents lists in a number of regions.
Far-right
The National Front ran lists in all metropolitan regions. Jean-Marie Le Pen
Jean Louis Marie Le Pen (, born 20 June 1928) is a French far-right politician who served as President of the National Front from 1972 to 2011. He also served as Honorary President of the National Front from 2011 to 2015.
Le Pen graduated fro ...
was a candidate in Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur
Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur (; or , ; commonly shortened to PACA; en, Provence-Alps-French Riviera, italic=yes; also branded as Région Sud) is one of the eighteen administrative regions of France, the far southeastern on the mainland. Its pref ...
and his daughter Marine Le Pen
Marion Anne Perrine "Marine" Le Pen (; born 5 August 1968) is a French lawyer and politician who ran for the French presidency in 2012, 2017, and 2022. A member of the National Rally (RN; previously the National Front, FN), she served as its pre ...
was a candidate in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais
Nord-Pas-de-Calais (); pcd, Nord-Pas-Calés); is a former administrative region of France. Since 1 January 2016, it has been part of the new region Hauts-de-France. It consisted of the departments of Nord and Pas-de-Calais. Nord-Pas-de-Cala ...
.
In Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur
Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur (; or , ; commonly shortened to PACA; en, Provence-Alps-French Riviera, italic=yes; also branded as Région Sud) is one of the eighteen administrative regions of France, the far southeastern on the mainland. Its pref ...
, the ex-MPF and ex-FN mayor of Orange
Orange most often refers to:
*Orange (fruit), the fruit of the tree species '' Citrus'' × ''sinensis''
** Orange blossom, its fragrant flower
*Orange (colour), from the color of an orange, occurs between red and yellow in the visible spectrum
* ...
Jacques Bompard
Ancient and noble French family names, Jacques, Jacq, or James are believed to originate from the Middle Ages in the historic northwest Brittany region in France, and have since spread around the world over the centuries. To date, there are over ...
was leading a list named "''Ligue du Sud''", and there was a similar "''Ligue du midi''" in Languedoc-Roussillon
Languedoc-Roussillon (; oc, Lengadòc-Rosselhon ; ca, Llenguadoc-Rosselló) is a former administrative region of France. On 1 January 2016, it joined with the region of Midi-Pyrénées to become Occitania. It comprised five departments, and ...
.
Furthermore, around the Party of France
The Party of France (french: Parti de la France, PDF) is a political party in France. The PDF was founded on 23 February 2009 by National Front MEP Carl Lang. Carl Lang was known for his opposition to Marine Le Pen's possible candidacy to th ...
or smaller dissident parties, there were a number of dissident far-right lists in some regions.
Polling
Nationwide polling
National results
Among the 1880 seats, 41 were attributed at the first round (Guadeloupe) and 1839 at the second round.
First round
Abstention : 53.67%
Second round
Abstention : 48.79%
Regional results
The following tables show the results in the first round of voting which took place on 14 March 2010 and, where applicable, in the second round of voting which took place on 21 March 2010.
Alsace
Aquitaine
Auvergne
Brittany
Burgundy
Centre
Champagne-Ardenne
Corsica
Franche-Comté
Guadeloupe
Guiana
Île-de-France
La Réunion
Languedoc-Roussillon
Limousin
Lorraine
Lower Normandy
Martinique
Midi-Pyrénées
Nord-Pas-de-Calais
Pays de la Loire
Picardy
Poitou-Charentes
Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur
Rhône-Alpes
Upper Normandy
See also
* Regional Council
References
External links
After regional elections, should Sarkozy panic?
Analysis by Radio France Internationale in English
Election-Politique Regional Elections since 1986 (in french)
{{French local elections
2010
File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...
2010 elections in France