France, Feb. 3 -- On Sunday, voters in the Alpine Haute-Savoie departement handed the far-right its first-ever parliamentary seat there, electing Antoine Valentin in a low-turnout by-election that many are reading as a dress rehearsal for the March municipal contests.

33-year-old Valentin stood for the Union of the Right for the Republic (UDR)- the party launched by former Les Republicains leader Eric Ciotti and allied with the National Rally.

He defeated Les Republicains candidate Christophe Fournier with 17,341 votes - just over 59 percent of ballots cast - in Haute-Savoie's third constituency.

Turnout was strikingly low at just over 34 percent, with nearly two-thirds of registered voters staying away.

Calls for a "republican front"...