Sarkozy triumphs in EU poll, Socialists wilt
PARIS (Reuters) - President Nicolas Sarkozy's ruling UMP triumphed in Sunday's European parliamentary elections, winning some 28 percent of the vote against around 17 percent for the opposition Socialists, exit polls showed.
In a surprise, an environmentalist coalition came third with up to 15 percent of the vote, while centrist leader Francois Bayrou saw support slump to less than 9 percent, polls said.
The UMP's strong showing comes despite the economic downturn, which had hit Sarkozy's popularity, but Sunday's vote will come with health warnings for the government.
The opposition was splintered on Sunday between various centre-left and hard-left parties. Put together, all groups which openly oppose Sarkozy won a majority, suggesting the president would be in trouble if they managed to join forces.
Sunday also saw a record abstention rate of 60 percent, according to early data. Pollsters say this probably penalised the left, because they tend to draw support from younger voters, who were especially turned off by the EU ballot.
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