French Socialists win absolute parliament majority

2012-06-17 26

French President Francois Hollande's Socialists win an absolute parliamentary majority Sunday.

Analysts say the results will strengthen his hand as he presses Germany to support debt-laden euro zone states hit by austerity cuts and ailing banks.

Supporters in Paris cheered the results came in.

(SOUNDBITE) (French) SOCIALIST SUPPORTER SAMI RICHEBE SAYING:

"The only thing I feel is joy, we are continuing what we started, now the left is everywhere: in the Senate, in the National Assembly, the left has won and I'm really happy with all the work that's been done."

The left-wing triumph gives the Socialists more power than they have ever held as Hollande pushes for new tools to stimulate growth.

The far-right anti-immigration National Front achieved a breakthrough, winning its first parliamentary seats since the late-1980s.

Deborah Lutterbeck, Reuters

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