ANTI-FASCISTS celebrated in France today after Marine Le Pen’s National Rally (RN) failed to win control of any regions in Sunday’s second round of regional elections.

Ms Le Pen’s far-right party, a revamp of the National Front, won about 20 per cent of votes cast, less than in either round of the last presidential elections. Other politicians welcomed its failure to make gains after it had been widely tipped to win control of a number of regional governments.

Incumbents held on in France’s 12 mainland regions, with conservative administrations keeping control of seven and the Socialist Party — which was humiliated at the last presidential election, winning less than 7 per cent of the vote — holding onto five. President Emmanuel Macron’s En Marche outfit, which did not exist at the last regional elections in 2015, also failed to break through anywhere.

In Reunion, an overseas department in the Indian ocean, the left celebrated the election of Union of the Left candidate Huguette Bello, who was endorsed by the communists and is a former member of the party. She defeated right-wing incumbent Didier Robert.

Hauts de France conservative council chief Xavier Bertrand said his campaign had not only stopped the advance of the far-right but “made it retreat greatly.” And in Provence, an RN target, where its candidate Thierry Mariani lost to Republican Renaud Muselier, Mr Muselier said the people had “chosen to be a free region.”

Ms Le Pen said the setbacks were down to other parties forming “unnatural alliances” to gang up on her party.

Communist Party leader Fabien Roussel said the party was continuing to make gains against the far right, and now had representatives on 52 of the country’s 98 departmental councils, up from 39 in 2015, and doubled its number of regional councillors.

Preventing the RN from entering regional government was very important, he said. “The elected officials of RN will have no record to defend. All they do is talk about immigrants. People are starting to notice the deception,” he tweeted.

But turnout was at a record low at less than 35 per cent, making it difficult to assess how far Ms Le Pen’s chances of winning the presidency next year have been damaged. She has led in most opinion polls for months.