Sarkozy, Hollande for second round of French presidential election: Hollande wins

[Baltimatt]

Election today

François Hollande (Socialist Party) has won the first round of the French presidential election with 28%, according to the first official exit polls, with incumbent president Nicolas Sarkozy (Centre Right UMP party) coming a close second with 25%. This means that Hollande and Sarkozy will go through to the second round on 6th May.

The result which is provoking most discussion however, is Marine Le Pen’s 20%, taking the National Front party founded by her father Jean-Marie Le Pen, into third place. Much has been said about the demographics of French National Front supporters, and even more will be said about which candidate they might chose in the second round.

[Sprightly]

Sarkozy.

[Baltimatt]

Oops. Thanks for catching that, Sprightly.

[Sprightly]

I met his brother once. Interesting character.

[SalisburySage]

Election today

Your thoughts?

[Baltimatt]

Sage--

I don't follow French politics that closely, so I don't have much of a position.

[SalisburySage]

Sage--

I don't follow French politics that closely, so I don't have much of a position.

Well I will say that Marine Le Pen, who is as far right as you can get amazed the press by getting 20% of the vote. In fairness to her she did tone down the far-Right party her father founded, stealing support from the mainstream centre-Right party therefore I don't think the Socialists have much of a chance.

Which I am relieved to hear.

[Baltimatt]

Polls don't look good for you, Sage.

As expected, Mr. Hollande and Mr. Sarkozy finished well ahead of eight other contenders and will now face each other in a runoff on May 6. Though opinion polls show that Mr. Hollande has a double-digit lead in the race, the showing on Sunday for far-right and centrist candidates fed hopes in Mr. Sarkozy’s camp that he could fight back and avoid becoming the first French leader in 30 years to lose office after one term.

[SalisburySage]

Polls don't look good for you, Sage.

I am not sure how it works in France but surely if allowed Marine Le Pen's 20% will go to Sarkozy. No?

“The French want change but only on the condition that it doesn’t change anything for them.”

So the socialist entitlement crowd in France, much like the socialist entitlement crowd here in the USA want to live off the dole with no thought of austerity.

[Baltimatt]

Looks like Sarkozy will lose

Nicolas Sarkozy was headed for an election defeat on Sunday that could make him the 11th European leader to be swept from office by the economic crisis and crown Francois Hollande as France's first Socialist president in 17 years.

Buoyed by a tide of anger over Sarkozy's inability to rein in rampant unemployment during his five-year term, Hollande was between four and eight points ahead in final opinion polls for a vote that could mean a shift in direction for Europe.

Despite shaving a couple of points off Hollande's lead in the last days of a frenetic campaign, the conservative's own aides privately admitted it would require a miracle for him to turn the odds in his favor and clinch a second term.

[SalisburySage]

Bad news for France and America.

[SalisburySage]

Details please, none of this lazy posting. Give us the facts and the story.

[Baltimatt]

Patience, Sage. The polls closed at 2 p.m. EDT.

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.

[SalisburySage]

Wow. The French people are in for a bad time. But that's what happens when you don't fullfill your promises to the people, you get defeated.

[SalisburySage]

Patience, Sage. The polls closed at 2 p.m. EDT.

Thank you.

[AttackPlanR]

Too bad we can't have elections on a weekend, or make the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November in election years a holiday. Never understood that.

[johnpolitics]

FYI- This guy is a real Socialist, unlike Obama who is not like this.

[regularguy]

Shouldn't make much difference at all to us who is President of France. Obama got along fine with Sarkozy; he'll get along fine with Hollande. (Ditto Romney, if he's elected.)

European socialists aren't as socialist as they used to be.

[Baltimatt]

I wonder what DSK is thinking.

The former Socialist party presidential hopeful [Dominique Strauss-Kahn] cast his ballot at a school in Sarcelles, north of Paris. He appeared smiling and relaxed before a large group of waiting photographers but did not make any comment. Before he was arrested for alleged sexual assault in New York last May, polls said the former boss of the International Monetary Fund was favourite to beat incumbent right-winger President Nicolas Sarkozy in the election.

...

Since then Strauss-Kahn has been implicated in a prostitution ring probe in northern France, although the 62-year-old has insisted that he was unaware that women at the numerous orgies he took part in were prostitutes.

[zenwalk]

They survived and prospered under Mitterrand. No doubt Hollande will be fine too. Can't be more of a nit wit than Sarkozy.