World Jewish News

Photo: Francois Hollande, elected President of France on Sunday: ''It is the French dream that I will strive to make whole during the mandate that has just been given me.''Photo: Francois Hollande, elected President of France on Sunday

Hollande elected President of France, defeats Sarkozy, ‘France chose change in electing me'

Socialist François Hollande was elected president of France on Sunday, defeating incumbent Nicolas Sarkozy in a race that focused heavily on the country's economic woes.
Sarkozy conceded defeat shortly after the polls closed, wishing Hollande "good luck" as the nation's new president. The results made Sarzoky the first French president in more than three decades to lose a reelection bid.
Hollande, who gained with 51,9 % compared with 48.1 for Sarkozy, thanked his supporters for electing him president and promised to be a leader to unite the whole country.
"On this May 6, the French have just chosen change in bearing me to the office of president," the 57-year-old candidate declared before a wildly cheering crowd in his hometown of Tulle, in the rural Correze region.
Hollande said that he wanted to be judged over his five-year term with regard to how well he advanced the cause of fairness in society and the fate of the young, many of whom face unemployment and exclusion in France.
"It is the French dream that I will strive to make whole during the mandate that has just been given me," he said.
After the speech, the president-elect was due to fly back to Paris for a larger victory rally in the Place de la Bastille, a sacred space for the left, and he is expected to take over power from Nicolas Sarkoy on May 15.
In Israel, around 60,000 French citizens residing in the country were eligible to vote in the run-off election.
The first round of voting on April 22 saw 82% of the eligible French-Israeli voters give their vote to Sarkozy who is seen by many as a friend of Israel.

EJP