Voting is under way in France in the second and final round of elections to choose a new parliament.
President Nicolas Sarkozy's centre-right party has won a majority in parliamentary elections in France, according to early poll projections.
The vote comes a month after Nicolas Sarkozy won the presidential election for the centre-right over Segolene Royal for the Socialists.
But his UMP party fell far short of the landslide majority it was predicted to win in the second-round vote.
Mr Sarkozy's UMP party is tipped to take more than 400 seats - more than two-thirds of the total.
The opposition Socialists fared better than expected, the early results said. Voter turnout was low, at about 60%.
Socialists blamed low turnout for a poor result in the first round but Sunday's participation looks no better.
The results will be seen as a minor setback for Mr Sarkozy's party, says the BBC's Caroline Wyatt in Paris.
By midday, just under 23% of voters had cast their ballots - a similar percentage to that seen one week ago.
But the victory gives Mr Sarkozy enough room to start pushing his reforms through parliament, our correspondent says.
Some 44 million voters are deciding between 933 candidates in the 467 constituencies where deputies were not returned in the first round.
Mr Sarkozy has promised to give universities more autonomy, impose tougher sentences on repeat offenders, tighten immigration, make labour laws more flexible and reduce taxation.
FIRST ROUND RESULTS UMP and allies won 42%Socialists and allies won 28%Only one of the 110 MPs elected outright was a Socialist 99 UMP candidates elected outright, including PM Francois Fillon and six other ministersSmall parties performed poorly - Francois Bayrou's Democratic Movement won only 7.6% and Communist Party took 4.3%Turnout hit record low of 60.5%
'No blue wave'
The polls will close at 2000 (1800 GMT) and final results are expected early on Monday.
The UMP and allied parties would win 341-357 seats, according to polling institutions, down from 359 in the previous parliament.
If predictions of a landslide for the Union for a Popular Movement (UMP) are borne out, Mr Sarkozy will have a powerful mandate to push through the bold reforms which were the centrepiece of his presidential campaign.
Socialists were braced for up to 233 seats in the 577-member National Assembly, up from 149.
He has promised to give universities more autonomy, impose tougher sentences on repeat offenders, tighten immigration, make labour laws more flexible and reduce taxation.
The centrist Democratic Movement, founded by presidential candidate Francois Bayrou, was expected to win just two seats. The far-right National Front party was not expected to win any seats.
Record abstention
French Prime Minister Francois Fillon said the result gave Mr Sarkozy a strong mandate to introduce his reforms.
The election's first round on 10 June was marred by a record abstention rate of nearly 40%.
"Your participation has resulted in a clear and coherent choice, which will allow the president of the Republic to implement his project," he said.
UMP cabinet minister Alain Juppe cast his vote in Bordeaux
The leader of the Socialists, Francois Hollande, said the result was "good for the country".
The UMP and its allies won 42% of the vote and 99 of its candidates were elected MPs at the first hurdle having polled more than 50%.
"The blue wave that had been predicted... has not taken place. In the new assembly, there will be diversity and pluralism," he said.
The party is aiming for a total of at least 400 seats The Socialist Party received 28% of the vote and saw just one candidate elected outright.
He also described the result as an indictment of "unfair measures" set to be introduced by the UMP such as raising sales taxes from 19.5% to 24.5% to finance healthcare costs.
Smaller parties, too, also suffered badly from the resurgence of the French right.
The Socialists' results are a relief to the party, which has been riven by infighting since its candidate Segolene Royal lost the presidential elections in May.
The new centrist Democratic Movement (MoDem), run by Francois Bayrou, is now expected to win just a handful of seats, while the far-right National Front may fail to win a single one.
The UMP's predicted total of over 400 seats would give it the single biggest parliamentary majority in the 577-seat National Assembly in modern French history.
'Blue wave'
The Socialists have pleaded with voters not to give the UMP and Mr Sarkozy too much power, with Ms Royal calling on them to prevent a "blue wave" in the second round.
Her party is also hoping to reclaim some lost ground by campaigning against unpopular rises in VAT being considered by Mr Sarkozy's new government.
The government is considering raising VAT from 19.5% to 24.5% to help finance plans to reduce French companies' payroll charges and make them more competitive.
A poll published on Friday said 60% of voters opposed the idea.
The first round of voting on 10 June was followed by in-fighting between Ms Royal and her partner, the party leader, Francois Hollande.
The BBC's Caroline Wyatt in Paris says that has paved the way for a bitter leadership battle if the left does just as badly in this final round.
