France’s far-right National Front ran strongly in a first-round regional vote that was the first election since an attack by Islamic extremists left 130 dead in Paris. A second-round was planned for Sunday; in the interim other parties will negotiate and jostle for position. The National Front was leading in six of the 13 regions, including two where it was strongly ahead. Party leader Marine Le Pen told BFM television yesterday that “the French people have had enough of being treated like a herd of sheep.” She is the top candidate in Calais, where thousands of migrants live in makeshift camps in hopes of reaching Britain. Sunday’s vote took place at a time of high tension in France, where unease is spreading after terror attacks in January and November.
Syria | 3 soldiers killed in US led coalition airstrikes
Syria’s government yesterday accused the U.S.-led coalition of launching airstrikes on a Syrian army camp in the country’s east that killed three soldiers and wounded 13 and sent a protest letter to the U.N. over the incident. If confirmed, the airstrikes would mark the first time coalition forces fighting the Islamic State group in Syria and Iraq have attacked Syrian government forces. In a letter sent to the United Nations and published in Syrian state media yesterday, the government in Damascus said four aircraft belonging to the U.S.-led coalition targeted the army camp in the eastern city of Deir el-Zour on Sunday night. In addition to the casualties, it said the attack destroyed armored and other vehicles and a weapons and ammunition depot. The city, in the province also called Deir el-Zour, is mainly in the hands of the Islamic State but the Syrian government still holds some parts of the city.
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