Besançon (France) (AFP) – France’s ruling Socialists on Sunday narrowly won a key by-election, beating the far-right National Front candidate in what was President Francois Hollande’s first major test since the Paris attacks.
Undermined by stubbornly high unemployment and stagnant growth in France, Hollande’s party had not had a successful candidate in any of 13 by-elections held since he became president in 2012, although one of these polls was won by a left-wing ally of the Socialists.
By the time Paris was hit by deadly Islamist attacks last month, Hollande had become the most unpopular president in modern French history.
However, his widely-praised handling of the attacks gave him a ratings boost and Sunday’s poll was seen as a key test to this newfound popularity.
The Socialist Party told AFP its candidate Frederic Barbier had won up to 52 percent of the vote in the eastern Doubs region in a close race with National Front (FN) candidate Sophie Montel.
“I’m not rejoicing, I am not boasting,” Barbier told his supporters, calling on the post-attacks “spirit of national unity” to continue.
