French President Nicolas Sarkozy said on Tuesday he would draw conclusions from the results of local elections on Sunday that are expected to result in losses for his centre-right UMP party, reported reuters. The opposition Socialists chalked up several big gains in the first round of the elections last Sunday and are well placed to retain control of the capital Paris and take control of several big cities from the right after the runoff on March 16. The election for mayors and town councillors is Sarkozy's first electoral test since he became president last May and though most voters say local factors are most important, the poll has also been seen as a vote on his first months in power. Sarkozy, who has pledged to continue his agenda of economic reform whatever the outcome of the elections, said it was not his role as president to get involved in the local election campaign but he added: "Once the definitive results are in after the second round, all political leaders, myself first of all, will have to draw the lessons from the election," he told reporters. "The people will have spoken. I will naturally take into account what they will have said." Prime Minister Francois Fillon declared after the first round on Sunday that the government would not be put off its reform agenda but the elections come ahead of potentially tough battles over pension and labour law reforms later this year. Sarkozy's own personal unpopularity appears to have played a big role in the election as voters worried about the rising cost of living have become disenchanted with his glitzy private life and his brash, confrontational style. The Socialists, who have seen the elections as their first real chance to hit back at Sarkozy, have attacked the president relentlessly throughout the campaign.
