Nicolas Sarkozy's centre-right UMP party appears to be heading for defeat in French regional elections.

法国地区选举中，尼古拉·萨科奇领导的右翼执政人民运动党似乎将要被击败。

Nicolas Sarkozy has sought to play down the importance of the vote

Initial results suggest the opposition¹ Socialist² party has taken a strong lead in the first round of voting.

The outcome will be a major blow for Mr Sarkozy in the last nationwide poll before presidential and parliamentary elections due in 2012.

The far-right National Front（国民阵线） looks to have done better than expected, with up to 12% of the vote.

Sunday's election took place with President Sarkozy's popularity rating at an all-time low and unemployment at 10%.

'Not over'

The French leader had sought to play down（贬低，降低） the importance of the vote, insisting it was only about regional issues.

But many voters used it to signal their disapproval³ of the president and his government, says the BBC's Emma Jane Kirby, in Paris.

As well as the fallout（附带结果，原子尘） from the economic crisis, a range of unpopular planned reforms appear to have cost the governing party.

Turnout for the ballot⁴ was also poor. The abstention（弃权，节制） rate was put at some 52%, a record for a regional election.

President Sarkozy did not comment on Sunday night, but Prime Minister Francois Fillon insisted the vote was not over.

Near complete results suggested the Socialists⁵ were likely to emerge as the largest single party, and that the centre-left and Greens would get more than half the vote.

The leader of the Socialists, Martine Aubry, said the result was a blow to President Sarkozy's government.

"By this vote the French people have sent a clear and strong message of refusal to a France that is divided, anguished⁶（极其痛苦的） and weakened," she said.