Macron and Le Pen to review strategies after poor election results

Low turnout in French regional elections helps keep traditional parties on left and right in control across much of country

Traditional parties on the left and right are likely to keep control of most regions in mainland France after a historically low turnout in Sunday's first-round vote and disappointing scores for both Emmanuel Macron's ruling centrist party and Marine Le Pen's far-right Rassemblement National (National Rally).

Lists of candidates from the mainstream right topped the vote in six out of 13 regions in mainland France, leaving Nicolas Sarkozy's old party, Les Republicains, as the dominant force, while left lists, where the Socialists dominate, finished first in five.