Sarkozy's party second in elections voting

PARIS, March 15 (UPI) -- French Interior Ministry figures show the political party of President Nicolas Sarkozy trails the Socialist Party in the country's regional elections.

CNN said Monday Sarkozy's Union for a Popular Movement earned a little more than 25 percent of the vote in Sunday's elections, trailing the Socialist Movement's 29 percent.

The Socialist Party, along with fellow leftist parties Europe Ecology and Left Front, earned more than 47 percent of the total vote.

The National Front political party earned 11.5 percent of the vote and the Democratic Movement, or MoDem, earned a little more than 4 percent. Nearly 11 percent of votes were for smaller political parties or were blank or invalid.

Political analyst Roland Cayrol suggested the results appear to represent an attempt by voters to lash out against the country's ruling party.

"The French people want to punish the governing powers," Cayrol said. "Members of the governing right attribute this score to the abstentions but in reality the success of the left is indisputable."

CNN said the elections to choose council members and regional leaders marked the first round of the electoral process. Finalists from the initial round will face off in additional voting next Sunday.