PARIS—François Hollande swept to victory on Sunday, becoming the first socialist to become president of France since François Mitterrand left office in 1995.
Hollande campaigned on a kinder, gentler, more inclusive France, but his victory over Nicolas Sarkozy will also be seen as a challenge to the German-dominated policy of economic austerity in the eurozone, which is suffering from a recession and record unemployment.
French voters may not like belt-tightening, but both Hollande and Sarkozy had promised to balance the budget in the next five years. The vote was viewed domestically as a rejection of the unpopular Sarkozy and his relentless effort to appeal to the voters of the far-right National Front party. Sarkozy is the first incumbent president to lose since 1981.
With about half the vote counted, preliminary results released by the Interior Ministry shortly after the last polling stations closed at 8 p.m. showed Hollande had secured about 51 per cent of the vote while Sarkozy, of the centre-right Union for a Popular Movement, won about 49 per cent. Opinion pollsters suggested that the final result would be closer to 52 percent versus 48 percent.
“The French did not want to elect a president who is powerless: It must be given a majority, otherwise it would be absurd,” said Pierre Moscovici, Hollande’s campaign director. He called on voters to “amplify this victory” in legislative elections next month.
Sarkozy thanked “the millions of French who voted for me,” but said he accepted “total responsibility” for Sunday’s result.
“My involvement in the life of my country will be different now,” said Sarkozy. “But time will never weaken the ties between us.”
Speaking to party members, Sarkozy, who campaigned energetically to the end, told them to “remain united” and not give in to division. He said he would not lead the party into June’s legislative elections, but said “they are winnable.”
Sarkozy said: “I become a citizen among you.”
With anxieties rising again over the fate of the single currency, the election in France — as well as snap parliamentary elections in Greece on Sunday — was closely watched in European capitals and particularly in Berlin, where Chancellor Angela Merkel has led the drive to cure the eurozone debt and banking crisis with deep budget cuts and caps on future spending.
Such policies have come at a heavy political price for many of Europe’s leaders, whose opponents, emboldened by waves of voter resentment, have vowed to challenge the German push for deficit and debt reduction in favor of measures to stimulate economic growth.
Dressed in a dark suit and accompanied by his partner, journalist Valerie Trierweiler, Hollande, 57, cast his vote Sunday morning in Tulle, the capital of his Correze constituency. Conceding that he had slept “only briefly” overnight, Hollande told reporters he was bracing for a long day.
“It’s up to the French people to decide if it’s going to be a good day,” he said.
Under grey skies and amid intermittent rain showers, Nicole Hirsch, a 60-year-old retiree in the working-class 20th Arrondissement of Paris, said she was voting for Hollande in the hope that he would “bring the change that France needs.”
Opinion polls published on Friday, the last day of campaigning, showed the gap between Sarkozy and Hollande had narrowed to between four and five percentage points. While Sarkozy’s chances of retaining power appeared slim, he had remained confident, predicting that the election would be decided by “a razor’s edge,” and spoke of a possible “surprise.”
But Sarkozy’s campaign suffered double setbacks last week.
On Tuesday, Marine Le Pen — the National Front candidate who garnered 18 per cent of the first-round vote — refused to endorse either the president or Hollande, saying she would cast a blank ballot. Then, on Friday, François Bayrou, a centrist who finished with 9 per cent of the vote, the fifth most among candidates, endorsed Hollande.
Analysts had said Sarkozy would need the votes of an overwhelming majority of Le Pen’s supporters to win. But the latest surveys showed the president getting little more than 50 percent of the National Front vote.
Sarkozy and his wife, Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, cast their votes shortly before midday at a high school in the staid 16th Arrondissement of Paris. The couple left without speaking to the media.
Juan Carlos Velaure, a 57-year-old lawyer, said he voted for Hollande because he was fed up with Sarkozy’s governing style and his conception of the presidency. “He ruled over everyone,” Velaure said.
He remained unsure, however, whether Hollande would be up to the task of guiding France and Europe through the economic crisis.
“I don’t know if Hollande will help, but he is changing minds in Europe” about the need to stimulate growth along with achieving fiscal discipline, he said. “The future of France is uncertain. I couldn’t say if I feel optimistic or pessimistic at this moment. We will have to see what the future holds.”
Original Article
Source: Star
Author: STEVEN ERLANGER and NICOLA CLARK
Hollande campaigned on a kinder, gentler, more inclusive France, but his victory over Nicolas Sarkozy will also be seen as a challenge to the German-dominated policy of economic austerity in the eurozone, which is suffering from a recession and record unemployment.
French voters may not like belt-tightening, but both Hollande and Sarkozy had promised to balance the budget in the next five years. The vote was viewed domestically as a rejection of the unpopular Sarkozy and his relentless effort to appeal to the voters of the far-right National Front party. Sarkozy is the first incumbent president to lose since 1981.
With about half the vote counted, preliminary results released by the Interior Ministry shortly after the last polling stations closed at 8 p.m. showed Hollande had secured about 51 per cent of the vote while Sarkozy, of the centre-right Union for a Popular Movement, won about 49 per cent. Opinion pollsters suggested that the final result would be closer to 52 percent versus 48 percent.
“The French did not want to elect a president who is powerless: It must be given a majority, otherwise it would be absurd,” said Pierre Moscovici, Hollande’s campaign director. He called on voters to “amplify this victory” in legislative elections next month.
Sarkozy thanked “the millions of French who voted for me,” but said he accepted “total responsibility” for Sunday’s result.
“My involvement in the life of my country will be different now,” said Sarkozy. “But time will never weaken the ties between us.”
Speaking to party members, Sarkozy, who campaigned energetically to the end, told them to “remain united” and not give in to division. He said he would not lead the party into June’s legislative elections, but said “they are winnable.”
Sarkozy said: “I become a citizen among you.”
With anxieties rising again over the fate of the single currency, the election in France — as well as snap parliamentary elections in Greece on Sunday — was closely watched in European capitals and particularly in Berlin, where Chancellor Angela Merkel has led the drive to cure the eurozone debt and banking crisis with deep budget cuts and caps on future spending.
Such policies have come at a heavy political price for many of Europe’s leaders, whose opponents, emboldened by waves of voter resentment, have vowed to challenge the German push for deficit and debt reduction in favor of measures to stimulate economic growth.
Dressed in a dark suit and accompanied by his partner, journalist Valerie Trierweiler, Hollande, 57, cast his vote Sunday morning in Tulle, the capital of his Correze constituency. Conceding that he had slept “only briefly” overnight, Hollande told reporters he was bracing for a long day.
“It’s up to the French people to decide if it’s going to be a good day,” he said.
Under grey skies and amid intermittent rain showers, Nicole Hirsch, a 60-year-old retiree in the working-class 20th Arrondissement of Paris, said she was voting for Hollande in the hope that he would “bring the change that France needs.”
Opinion polls published on Friday, the last day of campaigning, showed the gap between Sarkozy and Hollande had narrowed to between four and five percentage points. While Sarkozy’s chances of retaining power appeared slim, he had remained confident, predicting that the election would be decided by “a razor’s edge,” and spoke of a possible “surprise.”
But Sarkozy’s campaign suffered double setbacks last week.
On Tuesday, Marine Le Pen — the National Front candidate who garnered 18 per cent of the first-round vote — refused to endorse either the president or Hollande, saying she would cast a blank ballot. Then, on Friday, François Bayrou, a centrist who finished with 9 per cent of the vote, the fifth most among candidates, endorsed Hollande.
Analysts had said Sarkozy would need the votes of an overwhelming majority of Le Pen’s supporters to win. But the latest surveys showed the president getting little more than 50 percent of the National Front vote.
Sarkozy and his wife, Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, cast their votes shortly before midday at a high school in the staid 16th Arrondissement of Paris. The couple left without speaking to the media.
Juan Carlos Velaure, a 57-year-old lawyer, said he voted for Hollande because he was fed up with Sarkozy’s governing style and his conception of the presidency. “He ruled over everyone,” Velaure said.
He remained unsure, however, whether Hollande would be up to the task of guiding France and Europe through the economic crisis.
“I don’t know if Hollande will help, but he is changing minds in Europe” about the need to stimulate growth along with achieving fiscal discipline, he said. “The future of France is uncertain. I couldn’t say if I feel optimistic or pessimistic at this moment. We will have to see what the future holds.”
Original Article
Source: Star
Author: STEVEN ERLANGER and NICOLA CLARK
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