The far-right National Rally (RN) look to have lost a key battleground in France's regional elections, APA reports citing BBC.
RN had hoped to win its first ever region, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur.
But exit polls suggest their hotly-tipped candidate, Thierry Mariani, took only 43% of the vote and lost to the centre-right Republicans.
This round of elections has seen a potentially record low turnout of less than 30%, according to official figures released before polls closed.
Marine Le Pen's RN also lost another potential stronghold, the Hauts-de-France region around Calais in the north.
Other early results suggest wins for traditional centre-right parties, and for the left.
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