French National Front party wins bellwether by-election

A candidate for the French far-right National Front (FN) party has won a by-election in the south-east, amid signs the party is gaining in strength. Laurent Lopez beat the centre-right UMP party by a wide margin in the town of Brignoles, winning 53.9% of the vote. via Pocket http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-24514843#sa-ns_mchannel=rss&ns_source=PublicRSS20-sa