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Marine Le Pen’s National Front (FN) is seeking to consolidate its last week’s gains in France’s second round of regional elections.

The far-right FN is leading in six of 13 regions in mainland France.

However, opinion polls indicate that the centre-right Republican opposition of Nicolas Sarkozy has gained ground since then.

The Republicans pushed the ruling Socialists into third place in the first round.

The Socialists have removed losing candidates from vulnerable seats to avoid splitting the anti-FN vote. However, the Republicans have refused to do the same.

The FN won 27.73% of the vote in the first round, followed by Nicolas Sarkozy’s Republicans on 26.65% and President Francois Hollande’s Socialists with 23.12%.

Photo Getty Images

Photo Getty Images

Marine Le Pen, who stood in the northern region of Nord-Pas-de-Calais-Picardie, and her niece Marion Marechal-Le Pen, who stood in Provence-Alpes-Cote d’Azur in the south, both looked to have won more than 40% of the vote.

She later told her supporters it was a “magnificent result” which proved the FN was “without contest the first party of France”.

French regions have wide powers over local transport, education and economic development.

The far right has been steadily gaining votes over the past few years from both left- and right-wing sympathizers through a mix of nationalist and pro-welfare policies, correspondents say.

In the lead-up to the first round, opinion polls suggested that the popularity of the anti-immigration, anti-EU FN had increased since the deadly attacks in Paris on November 13.

The FN is hoping a strong performance will boost Marine Le Pen’s chances in the 2017 presidential election.

The government’s response to the Paris attacks has boosted President Francois Hollande’s approval ratings – they have soared more than 30 percentage points to 50%.

However, this surge in personal popularity has so far not translated into greater approval for Francois Hollande’s Socialist Party.

Marine Le Pen’s Front National (National Front) appears to have made big gains in France’s first round of regional elections, estimates show.

They put the far-right National Front ahead in at least six of 13 regions in mainland France.

The elections are the first electoral test since last month’s Paris attacks, in which 130 people were killed.

The center-right Republicans party led by former President Nicolas Sarkozy appeared to be in second place ahead of the governing Socialist Party.

A second round of voting will be held on December 13.

As the results became clear, the Socialist party said it was withdrawing from the second round in at least two regions, in the north and the south, to try to block a run-off victory for the FN.

Exit polls from December 2 vote predicted that the FN had won 30.8% of the vote, followed by Nicolas Sarkozy’s Republicans on 27.2% and President Francois Hollande’s Socialists with 22.7%.

Photo AFP

Photo AFP

FN leader Marine Le Pen, who stood in the northern region of Nord-Pas-De-Calais-Picardie, and her niece Marion Marechal-Le Pen, who stood in Provence-Alpes-Cote d’Azur in the south, both looked to have won more than 40% of the vote, polls predicted, breaking previous records for the party.

Marine Le Pen told supporters it was a “magnificent result” which proved the FN was “without contest the first party of France”.

In previous years, the center-right opposition and governing Socialist party have worked together to block the FN.

However, Nicolas Sarkozy said there would be no “tactical alliances” in the second round.

French regions have wide powers over local transport, education and economic development.

The far right has been steadily gaining votes over the past few years from both left- and right-wing sympathizers through a mix of nationalist and pro-welfare policies.

In the lead-up to the election, opinion polls suggested that the popularity of the anti-immigration, anti-EU National Front had increased since the Paris attacks on November 13.

The election has been held under a state of emergency declared after the Paris attacks, which were claimed by Islamic State militants.

The FN is hoping a strong performance will boost Marine Le Pen’s chances for the 2017 presidential election.

Meanwhile, the government’s response to the Paris attacks has boosted President Francois Hollande’s approval ratings – they have soared more than 30 percentage points to 50%.

However, this surge in personal popularity has so far not translated into greater approval for Francois Hollande’s Socialist Party, which is trailing with about 22%.

PM Manuel Valls made an “appeal to patriotism” on December 3 in an effort to rally the Socialist vote.

Assemblies are being elected in the 13 regions of metropolitan France and in four overseas territories.

France’s far-right Front National (FN) has expelled its founder, Jean-Marie Le Pen, following a feud with daughter and party leader Marine Le Pen.

Jean-Marie Le Pen, who was honorary president, was dismissed after a three-hour extraordinary party congress.

He was initially suspended back in May, after he repeated his view that the Holocaust was “a detail of history”.

Photo Reuters

Photo Reuters

Marine Le Pen took over as leader in 2011 and has tried to steer the party away from its racist and anti-Semitic past.

The FN was founded by Jean-Marie Le Pen in 1972. He still holds a seat in the European Parliament and a post as a regional councilor in the south of France.

Jean-Marie Le Pen, 86, launched a legal challenge against his suspension, and on July 2, a court decided to overturn it.

The judge ruled that the correct procedure had not been followed and ordered that an extraordinary general meeting (EGM) be held to discuss his future.

That meeting took place on August 20, and Jean-Marie Le Pen has now been expelled.

His dismissal follows a series of remarks regarded as inflammatory and a feud with his daughter.

Earlier this year Jen-Marie Le Pen restated his characterization of the Holocaust as a “detail” – a view he first expressed in 1987 – and also said he had never considered France’s wartime collaborationist leader Philippe Petain a traitor.

Marine Le Pen has said in the past that her father should “no longer be able to speak in the name of the National Front”.