No surprise expected in French legislative polls

PARIS - Reuters

Hollande (L) looks on as Merkel (C) looks her place before posing for the family photo.

France’s Socialist party and its left-wing allies look set to win a majority in the second round of parliamentary elections June 17, according to a poll published on June 15.

A survey by IPSOS-Logica Business Consulting showed the left was on track to win between 324 and 364 seats in the National Assembly, well above a majority of 289. President François Hollande’s Socialist party should receive between 284 and 313 deputies, making it a possibility that it could govern without the need for other allied parties. The Left Front would win between 12 and 13 seats, with other left-leaning parties are predicted as taking between 26 and 18 seats, the poll said. The Socialists’ Green allies were seen taking between 14 and 20 seats. The far-right National Front could be shut out of Parliament taking between 0 and 3 seats. The Socialists and its allied came out on top in the first round elections on June 10, winning 46 percent of the vote compared to 34 percent for Sarkozy’s UMP party and its allies.