Hollande’s Socialists Lose Cities Amid Voter Disillusionment

French President Francois Hollande’s Socialists lost control of cities across the country yesterday, as voters punished the party for record joblessness.

While Socialist candidate Anne Hidalgo, 54, won in Paris, making her the French capital’s first female mayor, throughout France the main beneficiary was former President Nicolas Sarkozy’s UMP party. It ousted Socialist mayors in cities such as Toulouse, Limoges, Belfort and Reims. The anti-euro National Front of Marine Le Pen gained ground, while failing to make the breakthrough it threatened after a first round a week ago.