Crunch vote for Sarkozy

The vote was seen by many as a referendum on Mr Sarkozy's two-and-a-half years in power.

Leftists were riding high coming into the elections, which looked likely to end in a setback for Mr Sarkozy's conservatives, blamed by many voters for failing to protect their jobs amid the economic downturn.

France's struggle to integrate its millions of Muslims has also come to the fore in the campaign for 1,880 seats on regional governments in mainland France and in overseas regions from the Caribbean to the Indian Ocean.