French President Nicolas Sarkozy is widely expected to change his style of leadership after a municipal election trouncing, but aides ruled out any change to economic reform plans or a major Cabinet shake-up.
Just 10 months since Sarkozy won power, many voters feel he has not protected them from the rising cost of living and think he has focused too much on his private life, marrying former model Carla Bruni after a whirlwind romance.
The opposition Socialists wrested control of more than 20 large towns and cities from Sarkozy's center-right UMP party in Sunday's vote, results which Le Parisien daily branded a "tidal wave." The Socialists also kept their grip on the capital Paris.
The UMP just managed to cling on to power in France's third largest city, Marseille, but that could not disguise the scale of its defeat nationwide in the first test of Sarkozy's popularity with voters since his victory last May.
"Whatever way you look at it, it is a big victory for the left," said Jerome Jaffre, head of the Cecop polling institute.
Sarkozy was elected last May on campaign pledges to shake up the hidebound French economy, cut back on public sector workers and modernize the state's many institutions.
The Socialists said that the result reflected concern with a lackluster economy, while UMP leaders said that it showed voters wanted the government to accelerate reform plans, including an overhaul of the health, education and pension systems.
"The presidential style is not the only issue in question," said Les Echos financial daily.
"There were too many disappointed hopes on purchasing power and, quite simply, too many expectations of a president who, in a bid to limit the political crisis, showed a diehard activism," the report said.
Presidential aides said that the vote was likely to prompt changes to the way Sarkozy approached the presidency.
Media reports suggested Sarkozy would start by shaking up his presidential team, with his youthful spokesman David Martinon being shown the door and more experienced heavyweights sharing the task of explaining the official line.
Sarkozy is also expected to adopt a more traditional presidential manner, shedding the celebrity trappings that have earned him the nickname "President Bling Bling."
His program for the week ahead points to this new approach with ceremonies for veterans of both World War I and World War II, a speech on the French language and the launching of a nuclear submarine -- all classical presidential activities.
Opposition politicians said the municipal election result underlined that voters were worried about soaring living costs and dwindling spending power.
"The president has to change the policies he has been pursuing for the last 10 months," Socialist leader Francois Hollande said. "The French are telling him that his promises about spending power have not been met."
French prime minister Francois Fillon insisted, however, that the government would forge ahead with its program of sweeping reform for the country -- despite demands for a change of tack from opposition Socialists buoyed by their apparent strong showing in the elections.
"You can't change a great country like ours in a few months," Fillon said.
"Tenacity is needed to reform," he said.
He and his ministers sought to play down the projected poor showing by candidates from Sarkozy's UMP party in a string of large cities -- saying not too much should be read into what were local elections for mayors and city councilors.
Sarkozy's chief of staff Claude Gueant told the daily La Croix newspaper: "There is no question of touching the general architecture of the government or the main positions before the beginning of next year."
However, he said there may be some "technical readjustments," without elaborating.
"The government needs to go faster, further and higher with its reforms," said UMP secretary general Patrick Devedjian.
The election outcome meant the UMP was left in charge of only three of France's 10 biggest cities and 41 out of 101 local administrative departments.
With 89 percent of the vote counted, official results showed parties of the left leading just slightly, with 48.7 percent of the overall vote, compared with 47.6 percent for the right.
Socialist former prime minister Laurent Fabius said the government was heading for "divorce" with the French electorate if it refuses to change its policies. He used a soccer metaphor to characterize Sunday's results, saying voters had given the government "a red card."
The municipal elections have less to do with party affiliation than other elections, and most voters say they cast their ballots based on local issues like parks, public transport and garbage collection. Yet the race was also a gauge of how the French rate Sarkozy's performance.
Bruno Marcandella, a computer engineer from Paris' Latin quarter, expressed dissatisfaction with the way Sarkozy handles "everything -- not just his personal life."
"I'm going to vote because I want my vote to count on a national level," he said.
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