Hollande allies trail conservatives in French local vote - exit poll

PARIS (Reuters) - President Francois Hollande's ruling Socialists and their left-wing allies trailed opposition conservatives in the first round of town hall elections on Sunday, exit polls showed of his first major poll test since coming to power in May 2012.

Left-wing parties scored together 43 percent of the vote while opposition conservatives secured 48 percent, pollster BVA said. It estimated the far-right National Front party scored seven percent - a high national tally given that it only fielded candidates in some 600 of France's total 36,000 municipalities.