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PARIS, June 11-- France's left-wing parties performed well in thefirst round of legislative elections, giving President FrancoisHollande and his party a stronger mandate to steer Europe's secondlargest economy through the worsening debt crisis. France's Socialists and their allies from the Greens and the LeftFront took the lead in the first round of parliamentary electionson Sunday, bolstering Hollande's chances of implementingwide-ranging reforms, including imposing higher taxes on the rich,to put France's fiscal house into order and stimulate long-termeconomic growth. Under France's electoral rules, only candidates who win over 50percent of votes in the first round win the seat outright. If thereis no clear winner, all candidates who garner more than 12.5percent in the first round qualify for the second round on Sunday. Preliminary results of all available exit polls showed thatleft-wing parties won 47.1 percent of votes, while former PresidentNicolas Sarkozy's conservative Union for a Popular Movement (UMP),a center-right party, garnered 35.4 percent, and the far-rightNational Front (FN) collected 13.4 percent. The first-round polls, which opened Sunday at 0600 GMT in mainlandFrance, closed at 1600 GMT in most municipalities, and 1800 GMT inmajor cities. At the end of Sunday, the participation rate was expected to be arecord low of 60 percent. There was a widespread feeling the leftwas certain to win some six weeks after voters ditched the UMPparty in a presidential vote amid rising concerns about highunemployment. About 46 million French voters went to the polls to elect 577deputies of the National Assembly. Some 6,611 candidates areregistered. The left-wing Socialist Party (PS) and its allies wouldwin the parliamentary elections, according to opinion pollspublished Sunday after the first round of voting. French Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault was reelected in France'sNantes in the third district of Loire-Atlantique, in the firstround of parliamentary elections held Sunday, local media reported. Ayrault, 62, was appointed as prime minister after Hollande won thepresidential election in May. He has sat in the parliament since1986 and headed the Socialists' group in the National Assembly, thelower house of the bicameral parliament of France, since 1997. Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius was also reelected in the firstround, French media reported. Minister of Justice Christiane Taubira and Minister of Women'sRights Najat Vallaud-Belkacem have decided not to stand forelection, yet 24 others have taken up the challenge to run. On the right-wing side, former Prime Minister Francois Fillon andthe UMP's Secretary General Jean-Francois Cope qualified for thesecond round, which will take place on June 17. The second and final round of voting will determine the makeup ofan assembly that should help Hollande implement his campaignpromises of boosting the economy and reducing the deficit at thestart of his five-year term. Opinion polls put the Socialists and their coalition partners oncourse to win a majority in the National Assembly. The left-wingparties already control the Senate after last year's vote. I am an expert from metalchokernecklace.com, while we provides the quality product, such as Wedding Necklace And Earring Sets Manufacturer , China Metal Choker Necklace, Wedding Necklace And Earring Sets,and more.
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