French President Nicolas　Sarkozy dismissed his labor minister and reshuffled several other Cabinet posts March 22 after leftists walloped his conservatives in France's regional elections — a defeat that exposed his inability to convince the public on his economic reforms.

Twenty of Sarkozy's Cabinet members ran for regional posts and all lost.

The election blowout March 21 could hand a new opening to Sarkozy's potential presidential rivals in 2012 — from IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn in the Socialist camp to former Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin on the right.

Sarkozy, who has emerged from the political doldrums before, could bounce back after the setback: His party controls parliament with a big majority and polls suggest French voters know the country needs reform on difficult issues like pensions.

The long-flailing French left made a big comeback, dominated by worries about jobs, paychecks and pensions in the wake of France's worst recession since World War II.

With 99.6 percent of ballots counted, the Socialists and their left-leaning allies won 53.8 percent of the vote nationwide while Sarkozy's UMP party had 35.5 percent, according to the Interior Ministry. Turnout dropped to record lows in the election, at 51 percent in the March 21 runoff and 46 percent in the first round a week earlier.

The vote left Sarkozy looking more isolated, squeezed between a resurgent left and resurgent extreme right.