Led by the controversial Marine Le Pen, it received about 30 percent of the vote and finished top in six of France’s 13 regions, positioning it to possibly govern at the regional level for the first time in history.
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The party were criticised over an election poster imploring voters to “Choose Your Suburb”, accompanied by a picture of a veiled woman, and an unveiled woman with the French tricolore painted on her cheeks. Party leader marine Le Pen won in the North whopping 40 percent, an equally significant advantage was her niece, Marion Maréchal-Le Pen in the South.
France 24 reported that exit polls showed the National Front ahead in at least six out of France’s 13 regions.
Riding a wave of Euroscepticism and anti-immigrant feeling, which has brought far-right parties to prominence across Europe, the breakthrough bolsters Le Pen’s position as a serious contender for the 2017 presidential election.
Speaking Monday on RTL radio, Jean-Christophe Cambadelis, Secretary General of the Socialist Party, reiterated the will of his party to withdraw candidates in these two regions.
According to the France’s interior ministry, Le Pen’s party secured 29.4 percent of the vote nationally, with over 85 percent of the votes counted.
Her father and co-founder of the FN, Jean-Marie Le Pen, rocked the French establishment by reaching the second round of the 2002 presidential election, but was trounced as voters rallied behind Jacques Chirac to keep the far right out of power.
The first round of regional elections placed the FN on track to break the grip of socialists and conservatives, cementing the party’s grassroots’ rise across the country.
Analysts predict the FN could take all three regions in the second round on December 13 – if traditional parties refuse to join forces against them.
However, Nicolas Sarkozy, who leads the centre-right Republicans, has ruled out a similar tactic for his party in the second round.
France’s prime minister has urged voters to back the main opposition to stop the far-right National Front (FN) winning regional elections.
“We welcome this magnificent result with humility and seriousness”, Le Pen said from Henin Beaumont in northern France.
Despite the strong result, it faces an uphill battle to clinch a run-off vote next week after Socialists withdrew candidates to block it from power.
The regional election was held under a state of emergency declared after the Paris attacks, which were claimed by so-called Islamic State militants.
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She said: “The French people have had enough of being treated like a herd of sheep”.
