Hollande Elected French President – Interior Min.

[webfact]

Hollande Elected French President – Interior Min.

PARIS: -- Francois Hollande, an opposition leader of the French Socialist Party, was elected France’s new president with more than 80 percent of ballots counted

Francois Hollande, an opposition leader of the French Socialist Party, was elected France’s new president with more than 80 percent of ballots counted, French Interior Minister Claude Gueant said.

With 98.89 percent of ballots counted, Sarkozy got 48.33 percent of the vote, while Hollande was supported by 51.67 percent.

“On behalf of the government I congratulate the new president of the republic and wish him successful service to the benefit of France,” Gueant said.

Sarkozy, the incumbent French president, has already admitted his rival’s victory in the runoff presidential vote on Sunday.

“Hollande was elected President of France, we’ve got to respect this choice,” Sarkozy said at a meeting with his supporters in Paris.

The official vote count is still ongoing, with the final results to be announced early Monday, but preliminary results, exit polls and various French media give Hollande between 50.8 and 52 percent, with about 48 to 49 percent for his opponent.

The turnout was 81.03 percent.

Hollande has already been congratulated on election victory by Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, U.S. President Barack Obama and U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron.

Source: http://en.rian.ru/world/20120507/173277456.html

-- RIANOVOSTI 2012-05-07

[webfact]

French Socialist François Hollande wins presidential election

2012-05-07 09:18:10 GMT+7 (ICT)

PARIS, FRANCE (BNO NEWS) -- French Socialist candidate François Hollande won Sunday's run-off presidential election, defeating incumbent President Nicolas Sarkozy, according to figures released by the government.

He will be sworn in later this month.With more than 99 percent of ballots counted, Sarkozy received 48.3 percent of the vote while Hollande received approximately 51.7 percent, according to the country's interior ministry.

Hollande had led the polls for months and polling institutes predicted he would win around 52 percent during Sunday's run-off vote.During the first round of the presidential election on April 22, conservative Sarkozy obtained 27.18 percent of the vote while his opponent Hollande secured 28.63 percent.

A total of ten candidates participated in the first round, with right-wing politician Marine Le Pen finishing third place."I want to tell you how moved I am to be the person who can represent you. The one to whom you gave the responsibility of the country," Hollande said on Sunday evening as he addressed thousands of supporters in the capital of Paris.

"I also want to tell you my pride to be the president of the republic, of all the citizens [who are] equal in their rights and in their duties."Sarkozy is the latest in a growing line of European leaders tossed from office in the face of the Eurozone's debt crisis. Amidst voters' anger over harsh economic austerity measures, France saw its national unemployment rate reach a 12-year high of 9.3 percent during Sarkozy's presidency.

France has a new president. This is the republic's choice. François Hollande is the president of France who must be respected," Sarkozy said in Paris as he addressed his supporters, who repeatedly interrupted him with a mix of booing and cheering.

"I just spoke with him on the phone and I wished him good luck."Both U.S. President Barack Obama and British Prime Minister David Cameron called Hollande to congratulate him on his victory. "They both look forward to working very closely together in the future and building on the very close relationship that already exists between the UK and France," a spokesperson for Cameron said.

White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said Obama will welcome Hollande to Camp David, the country retreat of the president and his guests, for the G-8 Summit and to Chicago for the NATO Summit later this month.

They also agreed to meet beforehand at the White House in Washington, D.C."President Obama indicated that he looks forward to working closely with Mr. Hollande and his government on a range of shared economic and security challenges," Carney said.

"President Obama and President-elect Hollande each reaffirmed the important and enduring alliance between the people of the United States and France."

-- © BNO News All rights reserved 2012-05-07

[GentlemanJim]

Oh oooh! Big changes, big u-turns, big uncertainties in the markets!

[aneliane]

Oh oooh! Big changes, big u-turns, big uncertainties in the markets!

Nope nothing is going to change, Holland is "la gauche molle" soft left. He said Capitalism was "his enemy",then when the financial markets started to express their concern, he went to London and told them "I am not dangerous"

Regardless who was going to be elected the markets are going to speculate against our debt so France gets on its knees like Spain

[GentlemanJim]

Oh oooh! Big changes, big u-turns, big uncertainties in the markets!

Nope nothing is going to change, Holland is "la gauche molle" soft left. He said Capitalism was "his enemy",then when the financial markets started to express their concern, he went to London and told them "I am not dangerous"

Regardless who was going to be elected the markets are going to speculate against our debt so France gets on its knees like Spain

It will be interesting to see what happens on the major European markets today (or is it a bank holiday over there today as well as here?). Maybe they will be pretty flat as everyone waits to see how everyone else will react, then again, they could tank.

[TAWP]

They are still going to be a high-taxed nation of individuals that love things French foremost and that keep electing authoritarians into office. Nothing really changes.

Edited May 7, 2012 by TAWP

[Steely Dan]

It's just the continuation of a trend that's been happening in the west for a while now; namely the gap between party policies has narrowed so you get a rudderless consensus approach instead of anything truly radical which may cause real change.

[geriatrickid]

Oh oooh! Big changes, big u-turns, big uncertainties in the markets!

Nope nothing is going to change, Holland is "la gauche molle" soft left. He said Capitalism was "his enemy",then when the financial markets started to express their concern, he went to London and told them "I am not dangerous"

Regardless who was going to be elected the markets are going to speculate against our debt so France gets on its knees like Spain

The French debt is a product of French excesses and their bloated pensions and benefits schemes. No one forced the French to get into debt. However, they do like their fat public sector pensions and their 8 week holidays. Comes at a price.

[geriatrickid]

Oh oooh! Big changes, big u-turns, big uncertainties in the markets!

Nope nothing is going to change, Holland is "la gauche molle" soft left. He said Capitalism was "his enemy",then when the financial markets started to express their concern, he went to London and told them "I am not dangerous"

Regardless who was going to be elected the markets are going to speculate against our debt so France gets on its knees like Spain

It will be interesting to see what happens on the major European markets today (or is it a bank holiday over there today as well as here?). Maybe they will be pretty flat as everyone waits to see how everyone else will react, then again, they could tank.

Markets are going to be more concerned about the mess in Greece. Absolute political disaster with the Greeks trying to renege now. If France tries anything funny, the financial recovery will fall apart. I'm glad I'm not an EU resident and not a German taxpayer.

[koheesti]

Oh oooh! Big changes, big u-turns, big uncertainties in the markets!

Just last week the USD was $1.32 to the Euro, this morning I see it around $129.7. I'm starting to like this Hollande guy already.

[Steely Dan]

Oh oooh! Big changes, big u-turns, big uncertainties in the markets!

Nope nothing is going to change, Holland is "la gauche molle" soft left. He said Capitalism was "his enemy",then when the financial markets started to express their concern, he went to London and told them "I am not dangerous"

Regardless who was going to be elected the markets are going to speculate against our debt so France gets on its knees like Spain

The French debt is a product of French excesses and their bloated pensions and benefits schemes. No one forced the French to get into debt. However, they do like their fat public sector pensions and their 8 week holidays. Comes at a price.

I did read he promised to reduce the pension age, which leaves even more burden on the taxpayers to support the armies of culture enrichers. Perhaps the ship is indeed heading a little faster than before towards the iceberg.

[nosatisfaction]

The beginning of the end, not that it was better before but it can hardly improve

[Jingthing]

Sarkozy made the mistake of going too austere, too quickly. That was both an economic AND political mistake. The best man wins.

[SomchaiCNX]

He will open the way for Marie Le Pen.

By the way extreme right in Europe = Center in the US or here in Thailand.

Left in the US would be extreme right in Europe.

Sarkozy would not even be right in the rest of the world.

France will suffer like all the countries where the socialists (labor) get their hands on the money from others.

[Jingthing]

I think this is a good result for France. Sarkozy deserved to lose.

[siampolee]

At the end of the day the bankers pull the strings as we see in the U.S and the U.K and the E.U. Politicians are financed by bankers, bankers say 'jump,' politicians jump and Mr. and Mrs. Average get shafted yet again.

[brit1984]

I hope the ECB has some paper and ink in stock

[Steely Dan]

I think this is a good result for France. Sarkozy deserved to lose.

Hollande has been quoted as saying he 'hates the wealthy', so no surprises if you get the politics of envy fueled by cynical gerrymandering of the electorate as those who can leave in droves to be replaced by those who can't. It's been the sad tale of Eurabia for decades now, only the speed of decline increases with a socialist in charge.

P.S And as a side issue Europe will be losing the most hawkish voice with respect to Iran for someone in hoc to his natural voting constituency.

Edited May 7, 2012 by Steely Dan

[geriatrickid]

I think this is a good result for France. Sarkozy deserved to lose.

ouch. I disagree vehemently with you. If you believe that a man who was more open about financial problems, and that had moved France away from tepidness when it came to taking a stand on the Middle East, Iran, Russia and Chinese expansionism was no big loss, wait until you see the Socialist foreign policy. Sarkozy did far more did rebuild France's role in international affairs than any other French leader in the past three decades. He had backbone.

Under Sarkozy, capital investments came back to France and foreign governments knew they had a reliable partner, at least more reliable than previous French leaders. I can think of one government that is unhappy with the loss of Sarkozy: Canada. Under previous governments the French gave tacit support to Quebec nationalists. Sarkozy put a stop to that. The Sarkozy government was also a strong ally to Spain in the fight against ETA and also put a stop to the tacit support of Basque seperatists. Yes, Sarkozy screwed up a few times, but he was focused on the future of France and of trying to rebuild its financial base and integrity. Now we will see a return to the weak foreign policy and appeasement of vociferous ethnic groups in France that are a risk to the principles of equality and secularism that kept France from descending into social chaos. Many arrondisements will soon return to the no go zones and religious controlled ghettos that took hold during previous administrations.

[bigbamboo]

But the big question must be how long before Carla dumps her little Napoleon?

[khunken]

I think this is a good result for France. Sarkozy deserved to lose.

ouch. I disagree vehemently with you. If you believe that a man who was more open about financial problems, and that had moved France away from tepidness when it came to taking a stand on the Middle East, Iran, Russia and Chinese expansionism was no big loss, wait until you see the Socialist foreign policy. Sarkozy did far more did rebuild France's role in international affairs than any other French leader in the past three decades. He had backbone.

Under Sarkozy, capital investments came back to France and foreign governments knew they had a reliable partner, at least more reliable than previous French leaders. I can think of one government that is unhappy with the loss of Sarkozy: Canada. Under previous governments the French gave tacit support to Quebec nationalists. Sarkozy put a stop to that. The Sarkozy government was also a strong ally to Spain in the fight against ETA and also put a stop to the tacit support of Basque seperatists. Yes, Sarkozy screwed up a few times, but he was focused on the future of France and of trying to rebuild its financial base and integrity. Now we will see a return to the weak foreign policy and appeasement of vociferous ethnic groups in France that are a risk to the principles of equality and secularism that kept France from descending into social chaos. Many arrondisements will soon return to the no go zones and religious controlled ghettos that took hold during previous administrations.

And I disagree with your comments. Sarkozy & backbone are oxymorons. He went along with Merkel without contributing anything. Jacques Chirac had backbone - no involvement in Iraq.

Sarkozy's attitude to the middle east was disastrous. He went along with just about everything the US hypocrites opined. His dealing with the Muslim minority in France was another disaster - no headscarves in public is absolutely inane. In short, Sarkozy is a buffoon.

I hope Hollande goes back to the independent foreign policy that real French leaders have mostly followed & gained world-wide respect outside the Anglo-fied bloc.

[IMA_FARANG]

The question I have is how this....and the Greek elections results also...where a anti-austerity/bailout party made a very strong showing and the Socialist Pasok party did poorly....will have here in Thailand on both Euro and Pound rates against the Baht. Being an American I hope that problems with the Euro and/or Pound will help the Dollar/pound rate.

I don't know that it will....but I guess we will see.

[Jingthing]

Hollande impresses me as a very solid, sober, mature politician. I think he shows promise as a leader no matter your ideology. If nothing else, Franco-Dutch relations should be better than ever!

[Scott]

A very interesting discussion. I know virtually nothing about Hollande. I must admit, my interest in the French election was consumed by the DSK controversy.

[kerryk]

Hollande impresses me as a very solid, sober, mature politician. I think he shows promise as a leader no matter your ideology. If nothing else, Franco-Dutch relations should be better than ever!

I guess you might be correct except for 93% of French Nationals in Israel voted for Sarkozy.

[Payboy]

On the down side, visiting state leaders won't get to kiss Carla anymore.

[Jingthing]

Hollande impresses me as a very solid, sober, mature politician. I think he shows promise as a leader no matter your ideology. If nothing else, Franco-Dutch relations should be better than ever!

I guess you might be correct except for 93% of French Nationals in Israel voted for Sarkozy.

Not sure why this is relevant. An even higher percentage of Israelis dislike Obama. Yes, I realize many French Jews don't feel safe in France anymore but that's not exactly a major political issue for France.

[Steely Dan]

Hollande impresses me as a very solid, sober, mature politician. I think he shows promise as a leader no matter your ideology. If nothing else, Franco-Dutch relations should be better than ever!

I guess you might be correct except for 93% of French Nationals in Israel voted for Sarkozy.

I guess they can see the writing on the wall.

http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Peace/2012/05/06/Jews%20Prepare%20to%20Leave%20France%20For%20Israel

According to the Jewish Agency for Israel, over 5,000 Jews from throughout France attended a fair in the heart of Paris about immigrating to Israel. The fair was attended by the Chairman of the Jewish Agency, former member of Knesset, Soviet expatriate and dissident Natan Sharansky. “I cannot recall having seen such a massive number of people interested in aliyah [immigration] since the days when lines of people stretched out of the Israeli embassy in Moscow,” said Sharansky.

[Jingthing]

Oh please, don't make this about Jews. About 1/4 of French Jews are interested in leaving France, before and after this election. This situation was PREEXISTING.

[kerryk]

Hollande impresses me as a very solid, sober, mature politician. I think he shows promise as a leader no matter your ideology. If nothing else, Franco-Dutch relations should be better than ever!

I guess you might be correct except for 93% of French Nationals in Israel voted for Sarkozy.

Not sure why this is relevant. An even higher percentage of Israelis dislike Obama. Yes, I realize many French Jews don't feel safe in France anymore but that's not exactly a major political issue for France.

I only mention it because you said, "he shows promise as a leader no matter your ideology" Apparently that is not the case if your ideology is Jewish. Francois Hollande, a socialist with heavy ties to anti-Israel populations.