Hollande's victory has now been confirmed by the French media. See latest updates.
Officially, in France, people are still voting and the French law does not allow for polls or partial results to be published. However more and more foreign media are already announcing the victory of Socialist Party candidate François Hollande in the French Presidential race. Nicolas Sarkozy shall remain a one term petit president.
According to jssnews.com, reliable sources close to the Elysée palace and of the Ministère de l’Intérieur, who is organising the elections, Hollande comfortably won by at least 52%.
17h45 : Les sources de JSSNews, qualifiées d’excellentes (tant à l’Elysée qu’au Ministère de l’Intérieur), sont formelles : François Hollande remporterait 52% des suffrages face à Nicolas Sarkozy. Il devient ainsi le 10ème Président français de la Vème République.
Notez cependant qu’il existe une marge d’erreur de 1.5%… Ce qui ne serait pas suffisant pour permettre à Nicolas Sarkozy de garder son poste.
Translation (thanks to Samer).
Other foreign media are also confirming, with all early estimates putting Hollande between 52% and 55%.
Hollande supporters are already getting ready to party all evening on the Bastille square in Paris, where the previous socialist president François Mitterrand celebrated his own historic victory in 1981.
Hollande's victory marks a new era for France and for Europe. However, his presidency, much like Obama's, will be a difficult one with little margin for error, especially with an historically strong extreme right National Front electorate.
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