(Full story)
By Lionel Laurent and Catherine Bremer
PARIS, May 6 (Reuters) - Socialist Francois Hollande swept
to victory in France's presidential election on Sunday in a
swing to the left at the heart of Europe that could start a
pushback against German-led austerity.
Hollande was set to beat conservative incumbent Nicolas
Sarkozy by a decisive 51.9 percent to 48.1 percent margin, the
TNS-Sofres polling agency said in a projection based on a
partial vote count.
The 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," he said.
Sarkozy, punished for his failure to rein in record 10
percent unemployment and for his brash personal style, is the
11th successive leader in the euro zone to be swept from power
since the currency bloc's debt crisis began in 2009.
Jubilant left-wingers celebrated outside Socialist Party
headquarters and in Paris' Bastille square, where revelers
danced in 1981 when Francois Mitterrand became France's only
other Socialist president.
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.
By Lionel Laurent and Catherine Bremer
PARIS, May 6 (Reuters) - Socialist Francois Hollande swept
to victory in France's presidential election on Sunday in a
swing to the left at the heart of Europe that could start a
pushback against German-led austerity.
Hollande was set to beat conservative incumbent Nicolas
Sarkozy by a decisive 51.9 percent to 48.1 percent margin, the
TNS-Sofres polling agency said in a projection based on a
partial vote count.
The 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," he said.
Sarkozy, punished for his failure to rein in record 10
percent unemployment and for his brash personal style, is the
11th successive leader in the euro zone to be swept from power
since the currency bloc's debt crisis began in 2009.
Jubilant left-wingers celebrated outside Socialist Party
headquarters and in Paris' Bastille square, where revelers
danced in 1981 when Francois Mitterrand became France's only
other Socialist president.
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.
No comments:
Post a Comment