PARIS (Reuters) - French President Nicolas Sarkozy faced growing discontent from within his own party Wednesday ahead of regional elections that are expected to end in a heavy defeat for the center-right. Sarkozy's party lost out to resurgent opposition Socialists in the first round of the election at the weekend and polls suggest the UMP is heading for a mauling ...

LA ROCHE-SUR-YON, France (Reuters) - French President Nicolas Sarkozy blamed negligence and bad planning for the damage caused by storms which broke Atlantic sea walls last month, unleashing floods that killed more than 50 people. "This disaster is the result of a cascade of contentious decisions that went against common sense, of negligence, failure to respect regulations and expert advice that ...

Fresh with a first-place showing in round one of regional elections over President Nicolas Sarkozy's governing UMP party, France's Socialists now have a week of deal-making with rival leftist parties to try to secure dominance in the upcoming runoff — and 2 1/2 years to transform ...

France's Socialists on Monday worked to secure alliances with rival leftists going into next weekend's final round of regional elections, an attempt to bolster their front against President Nicolas Sarkozy's struggling conservatives. In Sunday's first-round balloting, Sarkozy's party suffered a national beating by voters who took their ...