France's Greens hope to turn summer wave into ongoing tide

Regional and presidential votes in next two years will test Europe Ecologie-Les Verts's claim of a historic turning point'

Regional and presidential polls over the next two years will show whether the green wave" that surged through a swath of big French cities earlier this summer heralded a fundamental redrawing of the country's politics - or a transitory ripple.

In June's municipal elections, Europe Ecologie-Les Verts (EELV) - alone or at the head of leftwing majorities - held Grenoble, seized Annecy, Besancon, Bordeaux, Lyon, Poitiers and Strasbourg, and were part of winning coalitions in Paris and Marseille.