French Socialist leader Francois Hollande called on supporters to mobilise Sunday to restore a balance of power after President Nicolas Sarkozy's right-wing party took a commanding lead in the first round of parliamentary elections. Sarkozy's Union for a Popular Movement (UMP) party was headed for a crushing victory, with projections showing it could win up to 501 seats in the 577-seat National Assembly lower house of parliament. "I am calling for a mobilisation of the left to ensure that there is a balance," Hollande said. "To all those who do not want a party that is in sole control of the National Assembly, to all those who do not want vulnerability, let them come and vote next Sunday," said Hollande, who is the partner of defeated presidential candidate Segolene Royal.
Projections from polling firms showed the Socialists were struggling to hold onto their 149 seats and could plummet to a low of some 60 seats in parliament. Turnout appeared headed for a record low of around 63 percent, down from 84 percent in the presidential vote last month.