France's Sarkozy Faces Setback

French voters smacked right-wing President Nicolas Sarkozy upside the head during voting in local elections over the weekend.

Opposition Socialists looked set to win a decisive re-election in Paris in a runoff vote set for Sunday after easily securing victory in Lyon while battling for control of Marseille, France's second biggest city.

"The left makes gains, the right resists better than expected," is how the rightwing Le Figaro newspaper described Sunday's elections, the first major test of popularity for Sarkozy since his presidential victory last year.

The popular Le Parisien newspaper ran the headline "The Warning," a term also used by Socialist Party leader Francois Hollande who said voters wanted to deliver a message to Sarkozy about his policies.

Elected in May last year on a platform of sweeping economic and social reforms, Sarkozy has since January been tumbling in public opinion polls, his approval rating reaching a low of 38 percent last week.