PARIS (Reuters) - French President Nicolas Sarkozy's center-right party suffered a comprehensive defeat in regional elections on Sunday, but pledged to push on with reform plans before the 2012 presidential race. Early results showed that the Socialist party and its allies won 52 percent of the vote at a national level, the center-right 35 percent and the far-right National Front ...

France's opposition Socialists and their allies handily defeated President Nicolas Sarkozy's conservatives in regional elections Sunday, according to partial official results after a vote that helps set the stage for the 2012 presidential race. With 80.2 percent of ballots counted, the Socialist Party and ...

President Nicolas Sarkozy's party took a severe drubbing from French voters Sunday in nationwide regional elections that were his last big national test before he seeks re-election in 2012. As polling stations closed, initial estimates gave Socialist-led opposition electoral alliances some 54 percent of the vote, Sarkozy's right-wing UMP 36 percent and the far-right National Front just under ...