In the worst rebuff of its history, the governing Socialist Party won 18 percent of the vote in regional elections that saw France's two ecology parties and the far-right National Front gain clout.
An alliance of two mainstream conservative parties established itself in Sunday's vote as the favorite for 1993 parliamentary elections by winning about one-third of the votes, according to nearly complete returns Monday.But the alliance, like the Socialists, lost support to fringe parties and was unsure where to look for help in seeking majorities on many of the 26 regional councils.
"Confusion reigns when so many protest votes go to a divided ecology movement and a dangerous, demagogic extreme right," said conservative leader Jacques Chirac. "Paralysis and impotence are likely in a number of regions."
The results confirmed the Socialists' steep decline since the last regional vote in 1986, when they won 29 percent. The party was formed in 1971 and won the presidency behind Francois Mitterrand in 1981.