French election | Socialists secure absolute majority

French President Francois Hollande's anti-austerity front has received a boost as his Socialist Party romped to victory in the country's parliamentary elections.

With final results still to be declared, the Socialists look set to win between 313 and 315 of the 577 seats in the National Assembly.

But former President Nicolas Sarkozy's UMP has seen its share fall from 304 to an estimated 214 seats.

It gives the president strong backing for his tax-and-spend programme.

These results mean the Socialists will not have to rely on the support of the Greens or far left to push through their plans to hire more public workers and refocus EU fiscal efforts away from their emphasis on austerity.

"This score exemplifies strong confidence in the president," said Finance Minister Pierre Moscovici.

Never in the history of the 54-year-old Fifth Republic has a party had so much power. Sunday's win puts the Socialists in control of both houses of parliament (the National Assembly and Senate) for the first time. They also control most regions and large cities.

But the real challenge for Hollande lies ahead, when he will have to juggle his commitment to slash the budget deficit without reneging on his promise for greater social justice.

In the run-up to the parliamentary election, Hollande studiously avoided the looming question of spending cuts. But, with the election out of the way, the battle against France's spending bulge is set to begin.

Jean-Marc Ayrault, the prime minister, is next month expected to unveil a revision to the 2012 budget aimed at plugging a revenue shortfall of about 10 billion euros ($12.7 billion) caused by slowing growth and rising unemployment.

While the bulk of this year's shortfall is expected to come from tax increases, the 2013 budget that will be presented in parliament in the autumn is expected to include cuts to public spending.

Sunday's vote was the second round of a two-part parliamentary election. Turnout was a record low, at 55.9%.

Election results for mainland France showed the Socialists and their affiliates won 307 seats, comfortably exceeding the 289 required for a majority in the National Assembly. Definitive figures including overseas territories were due later on Monday, with polls predicting the Socialists could win up to 320 seats.

French far-right leader Marine Le Pen lost her bid for a parliamentary seat in the northern working-class town of Hénin-Beaumont by a mere 118 votes (out of a total of more than 55,000 ballots) in the second round of parliamentary elections on Sunday.

Her party, the National Front, has demanded a recount. Nonetheless, she declared on Sunday night, "We only have reasons to be happy to have achieved spectacular results."

Indeed, the National Front has gained a foothold in parliament for the first time since the mid-1980s, with two seats won in constituencies in southern France.

One of the new far-right lawmakers is 22-year-old Marion Maréchal-Le Pen, niece of Marine Le Pen and granddaughter of party founder Jean-Marine Le Pen.

France's Green party, Europe Ecologie-Les Verts, won 17 seats in the newly-elected French parliament, an unprecedented score for a party that has so far had a minor role in national politics.

Only four of its members were part of the previous national assembly, and its candidate in the presidential race, Eva Joly, won a mere 2.3% of the votes in May.

But the Greens were able to make major gains in the June legislative polls, thanks to agreements with the majority Socialist Party, whereby the Socialists promised not to field their own candidates in some 60 constituencies across the country in exchange for Green support elsewhere.

Now with 17 lawmakers, the ecologists are in a position to form their own parliamentary group - for which a minimum of 15 members, usually of the same political colour, are required. This will allow them to weigh in more heavily on political debates and policy-making.

Speaking time is allotted according to the numerical strength of parliamentary groups, as are powerful positions within commissions and executive boards.

Although the Socialists and their allies don't need the environmentalists to enjoy a comfortable majority, the Greens intend to make good use of their new power. "I tell my Socialist friends that they may be in a position of power, but above all they should not take advantage of it," a Green senator said.