France swings to the right

Chirac's choice of interim Prime Minister Raffarin turned out to be one of his politically astute moves.

PARIS, France (CNN) -- France's coalition of rightist parties is set to be confirmed as the overwhelming election victor, giving a clear mandate to conservative President Jacques Chirac.

With all but 12 of 577 constituencies declared Sunday night, Chirac's newly founded Union for the Presidential Majority (UMP) and its allies had 392 seats, a huge majority in the National Assembly, France's lawmaking body.

His allies, who were projected to win, would bring the total seats under his control to 399, according to the polls.

That figure -- nearly 70 percent of the seats in the legislature -- would be the largest number won by a single party in French electoral history.

The left won 173 seats, the Interior Ministry reported. That included 138 seats for the Socialists, 21 seats for the Communists, and three seats for the Green Party.

The result is a big defeat for the Socialist-led left, which had dominated the National Assembly for five years.

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"The left has been decapitated, and it is also disappointed because its program has been rejected in the presidential election," said Patrick Devedjian, a conservative French politician. "It is today totally helpless."

Chirac's strong mandate to govern comes after eight weeks of hectic electoral activity, including two rounds of presidential elections.

Jean-Marie Le Pen's extreme right-wing party, the National Front, gained no seats in the new legislature. Le Pen finished second to Chirac in the runoff last month.

Despite Sunday's results, the polls were not wholly supportive of Chirac. A record 39 percent of eligible French voters did not vote -- a record abstention rate.

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A decisive conservative win frees Chirac from five years of power-sharing with a left-wing government and enables him to push through reforms.

CNN's Jim Bittermann in Paris said: "The surprising combination of electoral events this spring, which not even Chirac anticipated, has led to a complete turnabout in the president's political fortunes.

"It's a turnabout some call the luckiest in French history -- something they do not say about France's football fortunes." (Analysis)

Chirac's interim prime minister, Jean-Pierre Raffarin, cast his ballot in the small western town of Chasseneuil-du-Poitou.

"I have confidence," Raffarin said. "The message from the French is clear: They want (their leaders) to take action."

Chirac's selection of Raffarin turned out to be one of his most politically astute moves. The low-profile politician received high marks during his month in office.

Raffarin, however, will now have his hands full. Voters have already indicated they want tough action on skyrocketing crime rates, but they don't want tampering with their social security or retirement benefits.

With the French population aging and working less, the government may be forced to take austerity measures to make ends meet and to meet European Union monetary criteria.

Labor unrest looks to be the government's first major test: Even before the results of the vote were announced, unions were scheduling a handful of transportation strikes.