PARIS,
June 16 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - French President Jacques
Chirac's center-right coalition won a sweeping parliamentary majority in
elections Sunday, taking at least 399 of 577 seats in the National
Assembly, according to early computer projections on the TF1 Television
Network.
The
victory gave Chirac's supporters an absolute majority in parliament
after five years of Socialist control.
Polling
institutes said the pro-Chirac Union for the Presidential Majority (UMP)
won between 375 and 378 seats, while its junior partner, the Union for
French Democracy (UDF), won some 24 seats, reported Agence France-Presse
(AFP).
France's
left-wing was projected to win about 178 seats, with the Socialists
taking 153 seats, the Communists taking 23 seats and the Greens with two
seats, according to estimates released after polls closed.
The
far-right National Front of Jean-Marie Le Pen was not expected to take
any seats in the National Assembly, polling institutes on TF1 predicted.
Little
before polling stations closed, voter turnout in the decisive second
round of parliamentary elections was lower at 5:00 pm (1500 GMT) than at
the same time in last week's first round, the Interior Ministry
announced.
Turnout
stood at 46.69 percent, as compared with 50.61 percent at the same time
a week ago.
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French Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin
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The
figure was much lower than at the same time during the second round of
legislative elections in 1997, when turnout stood at 58.1 percent.
Center-right
was tipped to win a substantial majority in the National Assembly,
ending the five years of uneasy "cohabitation" Chirac endured
with a left-wing Prime Minister.
Polling
stations opened across France at 8:00 am (0600 GMT), with the last in
major cities closed at 8:00 pm.
In
the capital Paris, turnout stood at 42.1 percent at 4:30 pm, down four
percentage points from the turnout at the same time in the first round,
municipal officials said.
The
June 9 first round ended with a record nationwide voter abstention rate
of 35.6 percent.
By
noon (1000 GMT) less than one fifth of voters cast their vote - only
slightly more than at the same time last week.
Chirac,
meanwhile, said he would leave intact the shortened 35-hour working
week, but would inject some flexibility into it to ease its burden on
businesses, reported BBC’s online news service.
Since
Chirac's victory, an interim right-wing government under Prime Minister
Jean-Pierre Raffarin is promoting a strong law and order and tax agenda.
Raffarin
is tipped to continue to lead the government following the election
