French voters punish Chirac
PARIS, France (AP) -- President Jacques Chirac's government flunked its first electoral test since taking power two years ago, suffering stinging defeats in regional elections Sunday that became a national vote of censure against painful economic reforms.
The stunning rebuke, which breathed life back into France's left-wing opposition, will increase pressure on Chirac to reshuffle his conservative government, and perhaps even ditch his prime minister, the unpopular Jean-Pierre Raffarin.
One of the few silver linings for the government was the moderate showing by the far-right, anti-immigration National Front. It polled just 13-14 percent of the vote.
But the day belonged to the left. It took control of at least 21 regions -- out of a total of 26 -- and polled between 49-50 percent of the vote. Chirac's right polled between 37-38 percent, the Interior Ministry announced.
The hammering left Chirac's government in a bind. On the one hand, European Union partners are pressuring France to rein in its budget deficit to within EU limits. But at the polls, voters showed their reluctance to swallow the bitter pill of cuts to France's treasured public services and welfare protections.
Turnout was high, with around two-thirds of the country's nearly 42 million voters casting ballots.
A somber-looking Raffarin acknowledged the defeat but defended his government's record, saying it has stemmed crime, reformed the creaking state pension system and stabilized unemployment -- still running at close to 10 percent.
"It's not enough, I know. The French told us clearly so today," he said. But "reforms must continue simply because they are necessary," he insisted.
The defeat marked a dramatic turnaround from a year ago, when Chirac was winning praise within France for his staunch opposition to the U.S.-led war in Iraq. But his government's reforms have deeply divided France, chipped away at his popularity and sparked protests and strikes by most everyone from theater workers to doctors, transport employers to state-funded scientists.
For the government, making it harder for state workers to get expensive full pensions and trimming the indebted health system's budget are part of keeping France competitive.
But the midterm election bruising, Chirac's first national test since he and his party swept presidential and legislative polls in 2002, led to immediate pressure from the opposition for a change in tack.
The leader of the triumphant Socialists, Francois Hollande, said a mere ministerial shuffle would not be enough, "no matter how big it is." Instead, he said the government must keep its hands off the public sector.
"The disastrous projects on pensions, health and schools must be abandoned," said Socialist Jack Lang, a former minister.
PARIS, France (AP) -- President Jacques Chirac's government flunked its first electoral test since taking power two years ago, suffering stinging defeats in regional elections Sunday that became a national vote of censure against painful economic reforms.
The stunning rebuke, which breathed life back into France's left-wing opposition, will increase pressure on Chirac to reshuffle his conservative government, and perhaps even ditch his prime minister, the unpopular Jean-Pierre Raffarin.
One of the few silver linings for the government was the moderate showing by the far-right, anti-immigration National Front. It polled just 13-14 percent of the vote.
But the day belonged to the left. It took control of at least 21 regions -- out of a total of 26 -- and polled between 49-50 percent of the vote. Chirac's right polled between 37-38 percent, the Interior Ministry announced.
The hammering left Chirac's government in a bind. On the one hand, European Union partners are pressuring France to rein in its budget deficit to within EU limits. But at the polls, voters showed their reluctance to swallow the bitter pill of cuts to France's treasured public services and welfare protections.
Turnout was high, with around two-thirds of the country's nearly 42 million voters casting ballots.
A somber-looking Raffarin acknowledged the defeat but defended his government's record, saying it has stemmed crime, reformed the creaking state pension system and stabilized unemployment -- still running at close to 10 percent.
"It's not enough, I know. The French told us clearly so today," he said. But "reforms must continue simply because they are necessary," he insisted.
The defeat marked a dramatic turnaround from a year ago, when Chirac was winning praise within France for his staunch opposition to the U.S.-led war in Iraq. But his government's reforms have deeply divided France, chipped away at his popularity and sparked protests and strikes by most everyone from theater workers to doctors, transport employers to state-funded scientists.
For the government, making it harder for state workers to get expensive full pensions and trimming the indebted health system's budget are part of keeping France competitive.
But the midterm election bruising, Chirac's first national test since he and his party swept presidential and legislative polls in 2002, led to immediate pressure from the opposition for a change in tack.
The leader of the triumphant Socialists, Francois Hollande, said a mere ministerial shuffle would not be enough, "no matter how big it is." Instead, he said the government must keep its hands off the public sector.
"The disastrous projects on pensions, health and schools must be abandoned," said Socialist Jack Lang, a former minister.
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