French President Francois Hollande appears on track for a Socialist-led majority in parliament after a solid win in a first-round vote Sunday.
Polling groups say Hollande's Socialist bloc looks likely to win the 289 seats needed for an outright majority in the 577-seat National Assembly in next Sunday's run-off, and almost certain to do so with its Greens Party allies.
Winning power in the lower house for the first time in a decade would be a triumph for the left a year after it won control of the Senate and weeks after recapturing the presidency after 17 years.
Hollande, who won the presidency five weeks ago due to a rejection of conservative Nicolas Sarkozy and his failure to curb 10 percent unemployment, has asked for a coherent majority as he steers France through the resurgent euro zone debt crisis.
Deborah Lutterbeck, Reuters
