Sarkozy takes hit in regional elections

PARIS, March 28 (UPI) -- French President Nicolas Sarkozy took a political hit Sunday when voters picked Socialist and National Front candidates in regional elections, results showed.

The Interior Ministry said Sarkozy's center-right party, Union for a Popular Movement, received about 20 percent of all votes cast, The Wall Street Journal reported. The Socialist Party garnered about 36 percent and the National Front 12 percent, the newspaper said.

The regional elections for the representatives of France's cantons are considered a gauge of voter sentiment 13 months ahead of the next presidential election, the Journal said.