Sarkozy seen winning large majority in parliament
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France votes in the first round of  parliamentary elections on Sunday with President Nicolas  Sarkozy&#39;s party expected to strengthen its hold on power,  clearing the way for him to push ahead with reforms.
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The risk of abstention looms large in  Sunday&#39;s parliamentary election, with many French voters saying  President Nicolas Sarkozy&#39;s conservatives will win regardless  of their vote.
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President Nicolas Sarkozy is seeking to bolster his mandate for pervasive reforms to energize France's sluggish economy in legislative elections that opened Sunday.The vote is crucial to Sarkozy's reform program because the composition of his Cabinet and its ability to push through legislation is tied to the number of seats the mainstream right has in the 577-seat National Assembly.The balloting Sunday is the first round. In France's complex electoral calculus, only candidates who win a majority of votes Sunday land a seat immediately. In races with no majority winner, any hopeful who gets more than 12.5 percent will qualify for a decisive second round June 17. Read more
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French voters went back to the polls Sunday for parliamentary elections expected to give conservative President Nicolas Sarkozy an overwhelming mandate for ambitious reforms aimed at modernizing France.
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Voting began in the first round of France's legislative election on Sunday with President Nicolas Sarkozy's conservative UMP party expected to strengthen its hold on power.
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President Nicolas Sarkozy&#39;s right-wing party won a solid majority to launch his programme of reforms in France&#39;s legislative election Sunday, but failed to secure a widely predicted landslide.
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French Finance Minister Nicolas Sarkozy has taken one step closer to a bid for the presidency, taking the helm of President Jacques Chirac&#39;s party.
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PARIS, June 10 -- French voters reinforced President Nicolas Sarkozy's mandate for major reform of the nation's moribund economy and government, giving his ruling party and its allies an estimated 46 percent of the vote in Sunday's first round of parliamentary elections, according to nearly compl...
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Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin won a seat in French Senate elections Sunday, a post that could be a useful fallback if persistent murmurs prove true that his days as government chief are numbered.
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PARIS -- By tomorrow, President Nicolas Sarkozy will probably be one of Europe's most powerful leaders. With the government, Parliament, and top state bodies under his conservative camp's control, he should face little political resistance as he seeks to reshape France.
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President Nicolas Sarkozy&#39;s right wing party was headed for a landslide victory that would hand him a sweeping mandate to reform France, after the first round of parliamentary elections on Sunday.
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The risk of abstention looms large in Sunday's parliamentary election, with many French voters saying President Nicolas Sarkozy's conservatives will win regardless of their vote.
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Popular former French finance and Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy has taken over the leadership of his country&#39;s conservative ruling party in a move that could change the face of French politics.
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Voting got under way on Saturday in some  overseas French territories in the decisive round of  parliamentary elections which are expected to hand President  Nicolas Sarkozy a huge majority for his reform plans.
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Voting got under way on Saturday in some overseas French territories in the decisive round of parliamentary elections which are expected to hand President Nicolas Sarkozy a huge majority for his reform plans.
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President Nicolas Sarkozy appears to have won a mandate for change after his party swept first-round parliamentary elections, and he is picking up speed in his plans to overhaul France's welfare state. But rivals say he should watch out.
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France is set to elect a new National Assembly, with a big win predicted for President Nicolas Sarkozy's party.