A victorious Francois Hollande faces a short honeymoon after his election as France's first Socialist president in 17 years, with financial markets eager for clear signals on his policies and how hard he plans to push back against German-led austerity.
Conservative President Nicolas Sarkozy made an impassioned final appeal to voters on Friday, saying that a Socialist victory could send France spiraling the way of Greece, as polls showed him narrowing his challenger’s lead two days before the vote.
Five days before French voters pick their new president, the far-right candidate Marine Le Pen announced she would cast a blank ballot in the second round poll of the election. Faced with a choice between conservative incumbent Nicolas Sarkozy and Socialist Party challenger François Hollande, the National Front (FN) leader said the two candidates were the same.
Socialist candidate Francois Hollande has claimed his campaign for the French presidency has forced German chancellor Angela Merkel to shift her thinking and accept the need for new measures to boost economic growth.
Far-right leader Marine Le Pen, who has emerged as a kingmaker in France's presidential race, sought to wrest concessions from President Nicolas Sarkozy by challenging him not to bar her party's way in parliamentary elections.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy appealed directly to far right voters on Monday with pledges to get tough on immigration and security, after a record showing in a first round election by the National Front made them potential kingmakers.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy faces an uphill struggle in the second round of the presidential election, after coming second in Sunday's first vote. He won only 27.1% of the vote, while his socialist rival Francois Hollande took 28.6%, the first time a sitting president has lost in first round. Third-place Marine Le Pen took the largest share of the vote her far-right National Front has ever won with 18.1%.
Socialist presidential frontrunner Francois Hollande appealed to French voters to throw out conservative Nicolas Sarkozy and shun the far right in a final push for working-class votes before Sunday's first round of the election.
Nicolas Sarkozy warned French voters Thursday they should re-elect him as president to pursue his cost-cutting plans or face the kind of debt crises that have gripped Greece and Spain.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel has agreed with other conservative European leaders to help President Nicolas Sarkozy in the French election campaign by spurning his Socialist challenger François Hollande, according to the German media Spiegel.