PARIS (Dispatches) - Nicolas Sarkozy's centre-right UMP party appears to be heading for defeat in French regional elections. Initial results suggest the opposition Socialist party has taken a strong lead in the first round of voting.

The outcome will be a major blow for Sarkozy in the last nationwide poll before presidential and parliamentary elections due in 2012. The far-right National Front looks to have done better than expected, with up to 12 percent of the vote.
Sunday's election took place with President Sarkozy's popularity rating at an all-time low and unemployment at 10 percent. Turnout for the ballot was also poor. The abstention rate was put at some 52 percent, a record for a regional election.
The National Front's surprising performance comes against the background of social and racial tensions after the government's public debate on national identity. Some 44 million voters were registered to elect 1,880 councilors from party lists to control regional budgets on transport, education and economic development.