The governing Socialists, trailing in third place, announced that its candidates in those two regions would withdraw from the December 13 final round so that its voters could help the rival conservative right – and prevent far-right victories.
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French President Francois Hollande has seen his personal ratings surge as a result of his hardline approach since the Paris attacks.
It came first in six of 13 regions in Sunday’s vote, its best showing ever.
The next presidential elections in France are in 2017.
The far-right has been steadily gaining traction in France over the past few years as Ms. Le Pen has continued its strident nationalism, while purging some of the party’s least savoury elements.
Appearing before her supporters, Ms. Le Pen called it a “magnificent” result, saying the National Front was “the only party that can reconquer the lost territories of the republic, of Calais, where we won 50 percent of the votes, or of the suburbs”.
It is the last election before France votes for president in 2017, and a gauge of the country’s political direction.
However, turnout was just over 16 percent at midday, barely higher than during regional elections five years ago. “We have the vocation to achieve the national unity that the country requires.”.
While the anti-immigration, anti-Europe FN has never controlled a French region before, the popularity of its leader – the daughter of founder Jean-Marie Le Pen – and her niece, Marion Marechal-Le Pen, a young firebrand and rising star of the party – is set to change this.
The Islamic State-inspired Paris attacks on November 13 that killed 130 people and a Europe-wide migrant crisis this year have shaken up France’s political landscape.
If the Front National wins that race, maybe France will have a chance. She is now running for a seat in the the northern region of Nord-Pas-de-Calais-Picardie, where the unemployment rate is several percentage points above the national average, and anti-immigrant sentiment has grown owing to the placement of a large refugee camp in Calais, on the English Channel. The polls project that National Front won 30.8 percent of the vote.
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Christopher Castaner, the Socialist who was forced to step down in Provence-Alpes-Cote d’Azur in order to dent the younger Le Pen’s chances, said he made the move “with a heavy heart”. The French government’s deficit-reduction promises have already fallen by the wayside as Hollande has said national security trumps European Union budget rules.
