Excerpt:
France's mainstream political parties were scrambling for a way to stop the rise of the far-right National Front (FN) on Monday after its historic first-round lead in regional elections.
Boosted by fears over the Islamic State militant attacks that killed 130 people in Paris on Nov. 13, Marine Le Pen's party secured 27.7 percent of the vote nationally.
The National Front came first in six of 13 regions in Sunday's vote, its best showing ever. The anti-Europe, anti-immigration party has been gaining ground for years among voters frustrated by the government's failure to tackle unemployment, fearful of immigration and disillusioned by mainstream politics.