President Nicolas Sarkozy on Sunday night won a solid parliamentary majority to push through his reform agenda, in spite of a surprise rebound by France’s opposition Socialists who had stoked last-minute fears of the government’s tax-raising plans.

Early exit polls suggested the ruling centre-right UMP and its allies would have a re­duced majority, with about 340 seats in the 577-seat National Assembly. Even so, this would be the first time a sitting government has been returned to office since 1978.