Although President Nicolas Sarkozy has said that the regional election results were not an indictment of his national government, he met with Prime Minister Francois Fillon on Monday to discuss a cabinet reshuffle.

Following those talks, the president announced that he was sacking a senior minister in what was seen as an effort to regain the initiative.

Labor Minister Xavier Darcos, who had been set to lead negotiations over controversial pension reforms, was sent packing because his party's defeat in Sunday's vote meant he no longer had the necessary credibility to oversee the overhaul of the costly French pension system. He is to be replaced by Eric Woerth, the current budget minister.

Francois Baroin, a close ally of former president Jacques Chirac, is to replace Woerth in a move expected to appease the Chirac "old guard" in Sarkozy’s conservative UMP party.

Sarkozy has nominated Georges Tron, who is an ally of former prime minister Dominique de Villepin, as junior minister for the civil service.

Villepin, an opponent of the president, is expected to announce later this week that he will set up a rival centre-right political party. The appointment of Tron deprives Villepin of a possible ally.

Another conservative, Marc-Philippe Daubresse, became minister for youth. He effectively replaces centre-left politician Martin Hirsch, who had been a symbol of Sarkozy’s effort to recruit talent from the opposition.

Future reshuffle possible

With only two officials leaving the government, the changes are seen as relatively minor, with a more wide-ranging reshuffle possible ahead of presidential elections in 2012.

In Sunday's second-round run-off vote, the Socialist-led opposition beat Sarkozy's Union for a Popular Movement (UMP) by a margin of 54 percent to 36 percent. The left gained control of 21 of France's 22 mainland regions.

The far-right Front National came away with 9.3 percent nationwide, after qualifying for the second round in nine regions. But veteran party leader Jean-Marie Le Pen scored big in his home region in southern France, winning more than 22 percent of the vote.

Voter turnout, at 51 percent, was four points higher than last Sunday's first round of polling.

Pollsters say the country's anemic economy and growing unemployment as well as Sarkozy's relentless reform course have disillusioned voters. Also, a string of recent controversies, ranging from a debate on national identity to accusations of nepotism, have been eroding his popularity.

Alsace remains conservative

Although Sunday's election outcome was a triumph for the Socialists, the UMP looks set to hold on to its traditional stronghold, the Alsace region along the German border. But the island of Corsica, another conservative bastion, was snatched from the UMP by the Socialist alliance. The UMP held on to French Guyana and Reunion, while Guadeloupe went to the Socialists.

The result is very similar to the last regional poll in 2004 when the Socialists came away with 20 of the 22 mainland districts, but were defeated in the presidential election three years later.

Even so, the poll is seen as a rejection of Sarkozy and his policies and perhaps the worst defeat of his political career.

The president has already announced a hiatus in reform plans for next year and this loss could make him even more cautious about pushing painful changes.

gb/db/AFP/apn/dpa/Reuters
Editor: Ben Knight