The second round of cantonal elections in France was held on Sunday. After the first round, the talking points were how many departments te Socialist party (PS) would be able to win and how well the National Front (FN) would do.

Le Monde is reporting that the PS has won two departments, Pyrénées-Atlantiques and Jura. It has also gained the newly created department of Mayotte and the overseas department of La Réunion. The right has taken control of one department, Val-d’Oise. There are two other departments, Savoie and Loire, where independents will determine who controls the council.

Despite the media attention on the FN, it did not do well in terms of seats. Le Monde reports that there were only two FN victories, one by five votes against a communist candidate. Notably, though, the FN score progressed relative to the first ballot. This was a sign that it increasingly has the potential to win. Previously, even if it won through to the second ballot, its vote tended to stagnate.

The turnout was 55%.

Meanwhile, new (and more reliable) opinion polls suggest that President Sarkozy will have difficulty winning through to the second ballot of the presidential election next year. The leader of the FN, Marine Le Pen, is well placed to go through against the PS candidate. That said, the figures depend on who the PS chooses as its candidates and the difference between the three candidates is not very great.