Why do people in certain regions of France vote in the way that they do?

North Eastern France:
Appear to vote towards the extreme right, being on the border, they're likely to want stronger border controls and resistance to immigration to maintain their national identity.

Southern and Western France:
Appear to vote more towards left wing. I think this is because they are located near to "les Dom-Tom", neighbouring islands who fight to become part of France. Voting towards the left side (who believe in equality and defying the government to achieve their goals) would help their neighbouring islands achieve their goal which would also boost their economy and help France.

Central France:
Also appear to vote more towards left wing. I think this is due to the fact that central France is often neglected by provincial France. A lot of central France is run down and their facilities are next to nothing. The nearest hospital is miles away and they don't have access to good education, health care etc. By siding with left-wing politics, they are fighting for equality and anti-consumerist ideologies and fighting for overall acceptance and significance.

Northern France:
Appeared to completely switch ideas between 2007 and 2012. In 2007, they were backing left wing ideologies, but have since switched to right wing (as of 2012). This is probably due to the urgency to increase immigration controls since the Schengen agreement allows anyone who has managed to get into France of any other EU countries which are part of the scheme, legal access to other EU countries. The united kingdom is NOT part of this agreement, meaning that they do NOT want immigration from the EU countries neighbouring France.