According to preliminary results from the interior ministry, the UMP and allies took 47 % of the vote nationwide while the Socialist party and allies took 38%, and the FN 5 % -- far higher than its 0.9 percent result in the first round of 2008 municipal polls.
France's governing Socialists have suffered big losses in municipal elections, with the opposition UMP claiming victory and the far right National Front(FN)celebrating further gains.
The Socialists have been hit by growing discontent over the economy.
Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault acknowledged the vote was "a defeat for the government and the [Socialist] majority"
The Ruling Socialists lost 155 towns, of some 500 they had controlled. "Punishment," read the front-page headline in the left-leaning Liberation Newspaper
Marine Le Pen's National Front won control of 11 towns of more than 9,000 inhabitants.
The party has also captured the 7th district of Marseille, France's second largest city. The district has a population of about 150,000, which makes it the party's biggest win.
The centre-right UMP was said to have captured a number of key cities, including Toulouse, Quimper, Limoges, Saint-Etienne, Reims, Roubaix and Tourcoing.
The Socialists retained control of Paris, with their candidate Anne Hidalgo due to become the capital's first female mayor.
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