Akhir 22, 1432 H/March 27, 2011, SPA -- Voter turnout was low Sunday in the second round of France's municipal elections, which are seen as a barometer for the unpopular president, Nicolas Sarkozy, according to dpa. An hour before polling stations were to close at 6 pm (1600 GMT), the Interior Ministry said that only 36.2 per cent of those eligible had voted. In larger cities such as Paris, polls will close at 8 pm. The final results are expected Monday. In the first round last weekend, Sarkozy's ruling Union for a Popular Movement Party (UMP) received a drubbing, garnering only 17 per cent of the vote, narrowly ahead of former fringe party, the far- right National Front (FN). The FN consolidated its place as the country's third-strongest political party with a result of 15 per cent. The Socialists go into second solidly in the lead, having received 25 per cent of the vote in the first round. Sarkozy, who is likely to run for a second term as president in 2012, has called on his supporters to vote neither for the Socialists nor the FN. A record low of only 44 per cent of the estimated 21 million registered voters cast their ballots last weekend. A total of 3,100 candidates are running in this election for the 1,566 available seats in French cantons.
