France's far-right Front National (FN) party was unable to replicate its remarkable performance during the first phase of the regional elections as it lost out in all of France's 13 regions in the second round.
President Francois Hollande's Socialist Party managed to win six regions while the center-Right party of former President Nicolas Sarkozy took seven regions, including Paris for the first time in almost two decades.
During the first round of the regional elections, the Front National was leading in six regions. The elections had taken place under a national Emergency imposed after after the terrorist attacks on the French capital, Paris, on 13 November by Islamic State militants.
In the second round, in a turn of events the Front National led by Marine Le Pen was unable to establish a stronghold in the northern region of Nord-Pas-de-Calais where Marine lost to Xavier Bertrand, the Republicans' candidate and former labour minister.
"History will remember that it was here in that we stopped the advance of the Front National," said Bertrand.
Marion-Maréchal Le Pen, Marine's niece, who stood for elections from the southern Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region lost to Christian Estrosi, Mayor of Nice.
FN's hopes were at an all-time high last week after winning six million votes. However, Socialist sympathisers voted en masse to keep the far right out of power.
Le Pen, who found a silver lining even in complete defeat, said that the FN is now "the first opposition force in many regional councils of France."
Sarkozy's The Republicans, who won only four regions by themselves, had aligned with the Left to ensure a win in three other regions.
"My strategy was the right one. The results have shown that France has never been so Right-wing. And when I see that it is in regions where we fielded centrist candidates that we fared the worse, you'd have to be mad to think centrism is the way forward," Sarkozy reportedly told his aides.
"Tonight there is no relief, no triumphalism. The extreme-Right threat has not been averted. I have not forgotten the first round results," The Telegraph quoted Prime Minister Manuel Valls as saying.
