The year 2002 reminded the people of Réunion of the power of nature. Cyclone Dina caused destruction and the Piton de la Fournaise volcano erupted twice, causing lava to spill over on to the coastal road and pour into the sea. The main political events were the French presidential elections, local general elections for the French Parliament and local district elections for the Department Council. In Reunion,the results represented a victory for what can be termed a "blue wave", blue being the colour associated with the right-wing parties in France. These parties not only won the municipal elections in 18 out of 24 councils, but also took control of the General Council, which was previously a left-wing stronghold. Réunion’s voters followed metropolitan trends in this swing towards right-wing parties. They did not, however, follow national trends in voting for the French National Front during the second round of the presidential elections.