In Paris Socialist candidate Anne Hidalgo looks set to win the vote to become Mayor. She looks to have secured office over the UMP representative Nathalie Kosciusko-Morizet.<br /><br />It is the one bright note in a ballot which is on course to be a rout for President Francois Hollande’s ruling party. The mainstream right has reportedly made gains.<br /><br />But it is France’s anti-immigrant National Front Party of Marine Le Penn which exit polls predict will be the biggest winner. Her anti-EU party is on track to secure power in 10 town halls surpassing its past record in the 1990s when it ruled in four towns.<br /><br />Defeat for Hollande’s Socialists could lead to a cabinet reshuffle as early as the start of the week, say analysts.
