PARIS (AP) — The Socialists conquered the French capital in municipal elections, wrenching Paris from President Jacques Chirac's conservatives and a century of nearly unbroken rule by the right.
Winner Bertrand Delanoe, an unassuming, openly gay politician, was relatively unknown before the campaign but struck a chord with Paris' 2 million residents by focusing on improving the quality of life. He promised to reduce pollution and address concerns about the poor suburbs.
But Sunday's historic victory in the city of light, and a second prestigious win in the rightist bastion of Lyon, were dimmed by the left's loss of more than two dozen sizable towns around France.
Losses by several high-profile ministers in Socialist Prime Minister Lionel Jospin's government proved a particular humiliation.
The runoff local elections provided a measure of the political landscape a year ahead of presidential balloting in which Chirac and Jospin may run against each other.
The Paris and Lyon victories saved the left's face.
"Today, Parisians have freely decided in favor of change in the capital," Delanoe said in a victory speech.
This Sunday, Delanoe will officially become mayor of Paris.
This Sunday, Delanoe will officially become mayor of Paris — a post held by Chirac for 18 years — when the city council, which serves as a sort of electoral college, votes him in.
He will replace incumbent Mayor Jean Tiberi, whose own candidacy divided the right.
In his public demeanor, Delanoe is a man like his patron, Jospin, France's dry, professorial prime minister. The two men are good friends.
One of a handful of openly gay politicians in still-conservative France, Delanoe revealed his homosexuality on a television program in 1999. He is an active supporter of gay issues, taking part in Gay Pride marches and campaigning for a controversial law to give some legal rights to unmarried couples, including same-sex couples.
His victory was widely seen as a cry for change at City Hall, tarnished by kickback scandals that allegedly date to the era of Chirac.
Tiberi's refusal to withdraw from the race got him expelled from Chirac's party and added further drama to a contest that riveted the nation.
However, the left's losses in big cities they had held like Strasbourg tempered the humiliation suffered by the right.
"It's a good local result in Paris and Lyon, and we also had failures which we will have to think about," Jospin said of the results.
Official results from the Interior Ministry were not immediately disclosed.
Seguin blamed the indirect voting system, and Tiberi's refusal to withdraw, for his loss. Some districts provide more city councilors than others.
"It is clear," Seguin said. "That if we had had a direct (vote), I would be the mayor of Paris tonight."
In Lyon, a right so divided that its official candidate withdrew spelled victory for Socialist Gerard Collomb.
The elections, which began with a first round March 11, were the first in years in which the far-right National Front took a back seat.
A 1998 split stole the clout from the anti-immigration party, which traditionally garners some 15 percent of national votes.
Still, the extreme right marked victories in three small towns it won in 1995 voting, losing only Toulon.
The Communist Party, partner's in Jospin's government, appeared the biggest single victim, losing eight small towns and one big city, Nimes.