France's Socialist party urged President Jacques Chirac yesterday to dismiss Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin and make policy changes after trouncing the ruling conservatives in European Parliament elections.
The Socialists gave the ruling UMP (Union pour un Mouvement Populaire) party its second election drubbing in less than three months in Sunday's elections. Voters punished the government over high unemployment and cost trimming as they did in regional elections in March.
But Chirac is not expected to dismiss Raffarin or change France's economic course, despite a new opinion poll showing a majority of French people want the embattled premier replaced.
"This colourless government has no legitimacy anymore and common sense should lead Mr. Raffarin and his team to resign," Jean-Marc Ayrault, leader of Socialist deputies in parliament, said in a radio interview.
"The president should assume his responsibilities in this serious crisis of confidence," said Ségolène Royal, a prominent Socialist regional leader. "The policies must change."
The Socialists won 28.89 per cent of votes cast, compared to 16.64 per cent for Chirac's centre-right UMP party, figures released from the interior ministry early yesterday showed.
It was the Socialists' best result in a European Parliament poll. Turnout was 42.79 per cent in the last big election before presidential and legislative ballots in 2007.
Foreign Minister Michel Barnier called the result worrying, but Interior Minister Dominique de Villepin said it followed a trend across Europe of voters censuring parties in power. Chirac and Raffarin said nothing of the election result. Raffarin was expected to answer questions on prime-time television tomorrow.
An exit poll published by Le Parisien newspaper showed 51 per cent of people wanted Chirac to replace Raffarin. More than 4,000 people were questioned in the survey after voting.
The Socialists' victory had been widely expected because of Raffarin's lack of popularity and a string of workers' protests over the government's reform drive, which is mainly intended to cut spending and reduce 9.8 per cent unemployment. The lacklustre campaign was dominated by domestic issues such as controversial health-care reforms and privatization plans which unions are resisting.
France's Socialist party urged President Jacques Chirac yesterday to dismiss Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin and make policy changes after trouncing the ruling conservatives in European Parliament elections.