Tue 06 Jun 2007Decimated French left licks woundsFRANCE:The day after a catastrophe, survivors pick
through the rubble and take stock. From the extreme right to the
extreme left, including the main opposition Socialist Party, every
French political grouping outside Nicolas Sarkozy's presidential
majority yesterday realised the results of Sunday's first round of
legislative elections were worse than they had thought.All but one of the 110 seats (of 577) won on Sunday night went
to Sarkozy's majority. A little-known schoolteacher from the
Pas-de-Calais department was the only socialist elected straight
away. Seven of 11 government ministers - including prime minister
François Fillon - were re-elected in the first round, gaining
more than 50 per cent of the vote in their constituencies.