Nicolas Sarkozy receives a warning

At first sight, France's regional elections may appear to be only of anecdotal interest. A two-round election with a dose of proportional representation, whose purpose is to renew the counsellors of France's 22 circumscriptions, may even appear obscure to the undiscerning visitor. However, the first round of les régionales has revealed disturbing trends; it has also delivered a clear warning to Nicolas Sarkozy and his UMP party. Defeated François Bayrou , once the third man of French politics, said: "I'm worried for France." He's not the only one. In a country used to relatively high turnouts, yesterday's historic record low (only 47% of voters deigned to cast their ballot) speaks volumes of the dissatisfaction and disillusion of the French people. Yet, there is hope. A survey revealed that 30% of those who abstained voting did so, not out of apathy, but to protest. Does this mean those people will go and vote this coming Sunday to strike a final blow, this time with their ballot? Let's hope so. It is indeed never a good sign for a democracy when its citizens lose faith in political action. And voting is Act One of political action. Another worrying trend: the return of the National Front , with an 11.7% score. Sarkozy's ill-fated debate on national identity was supposed to eradicate once and for all Jean-Marie Lepen's extreme-right party, at least in electoral terms; it has achieved the exact opposite. As the socialist leader Martine Aubry rightly pointed out, Sarkozy's grand debate proved divisive and noxious. The good news is that the French people who went out to vote have proved rather vocal, indicating clear political choices. By putting the Socialist party in pole position, at 29.5%, they give the party back its leading opposition status. With the ecologists achieving 12.5%, the French electorate show their present concerns, ordering the Socialists to work hand in hand with the new green force and create regional alliances for the second round. Finally, the successful pact between ex-Socialist party leader, Jean-Luc Mélenchon, and what's left of the communists in the Front de Gauche, with a 6.2% score, demonstrates that there is still life in the traditional counter-power forces of the left. The obvious losers of the first round, apart from Sarkozy's party, are Trotskyite postman Olivier Besancenot who tried to go solo, and Bayrou who, despite achieving 19% at the first round of the presidential elections , only managed to get 4% of the votes. The government's barons will be very active all week, trying to get the votes they desperately need to avoid a political Waterloo this Sunday; however, they may find themselves in yet a worse position on 21 March. Those who abstained voting could go as far as make their disillusion even clearer during the second round. A united opposition could very well reap what discontent has sowed since May 2007 and France's 22 regions could see red, I mean go left.