Hollande wins France presidential election
Socialist party candidate Francois Hollande won the French presidential runoff election Sunday evening, defeating incumbent Nicolas Sarkozy in a close, contentious campaign.
Hollande received 52 percent of the vote to the 48 percent garnered by the conservative Sarkozy, who conceded to his opponent an hour after projected results were in.
The outgoing president conceded defeat within 20 minutes of the last polls closing at 8 p.m. (1800 GMT), telling supporters he had telephoned Hollande to wish him good luck.
"I bear the full responsibility for this defeat," Sarkozy said, indicating he would withdraw from frontline politics.
"My place can no longer be the same. My involvement in the life of my country will be different from now on."
Punished for his failure to rein in 10 percent unemployment and for his brash personal style, Sarkozy was the 11th euro zone leader in succession to be swept from power since the currency bloc's debt crisis began in 2009.
The outcome makes Hollande the first candidate from the country’s Socialist Party to become president in France since 1988. It also makes Sarkozy the first president to not get re-elected to a second term in France since Valery Giscard d’Estaing in 1981.
But the celebrations may be overshadowed by a political bombshell in Greece, where mainstream parties were hammered in a parliamentary election that exit polls suggested may leave supporters of Athens' IMF/EU bailout without a majority, raising doubts about its future in the euro zone.
Hollande's clear win should give the self-styled "Mr Normal" the momentum to press German Chancellor Angela Merkel to accept a policy shift towards fostering growth in Europe to balance the austerity that has fuelled anger across southern Europe.
His solid margin also positions the Socialists strongly to win a left-wing majority in parliamentary elections next month, especially since the anti-immigration National Front is set to split the right-wing vote and hurt Sarkozy's UMP party.
If it wins that two-round election on June 10 and 17, the Socialist Party would hold more levers of power than ever in its 43-year modern history, with the presidency, both houses of parliament, nearly all regions, and two-thirds of French towns in its hands.
But the celebrations may be overshadowed by a political bombshell in Greece, where mainstream parties were hammered in a parliamentary election that exit polls suggested may leave supporters of Athens' IMF/EU bailout without a majority, raising doubts about its future in the euro zone.
Hollande's clear win should give the self-styled "Mr Normal" the momentum to press German Chancellor Angela Merkel to accept a policy shift towards fostering growth in Europe to balance the austerity that has fuelled anger across southern Europe.
His solid margin also positions the Socialists strongly to win a left-wing majority in parliamentary elections next month, especially since the anti-immigration National Front is set to split the right-wing vote and hurt Sarkozy's UMP party.
If it wins that two-round election on June 10 and 17, the Socialist Party would hold more levers of power than ever in its 43-year modern history, with the presidency, both houses of parliament, nearly all regions, and two-thirds of French towns in its hands.
An estimated 46 million voters in France participated at the polls.
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