Nicolas Sarkozy out as France elects new president, Francois Hollande

Socialist challenger Francois Hollande defeated French President Nicolas Sarkozy on Sunday in a vital presidential runoff, signaling a shift to the left as the country and its European counterparts fight to dig out of a weak economy. Hollande, who promised to govern for all of France, is set to become the nation’s first left-wing president since Francois Mitterand left office in 1995. The new president declared his win “a great date for our country, and a new start for Europe.”

In a victory speech to a cheering crowd in Tulle, Hollande said, “Many people have been waiting for this moment for many long years. Others, younger, have never known such a time. … I am proud to be capable to bring about hope again.” Sarkozy’s loss will become the latest, and most significant, of at least half a dozen European leaders swept from office during the eurozone economic crisis, including the Greek and Italian prime ministers. “I know what many people feel — years and years of wounds, of ruptures, and we have to repair, recover, unite. That is what we’re going to do together,” Hollande said to a large crowd of supporters at the Bastille. Addressing his loss, Sarkozy said, “I’m ready to become a French person amongst French people, and more than ever I have the love for my country deeply ingrained in my heart.” Sarkozy had been the French president since 2007.