Socialist Hollande ousts Sarkozy as French leader

PARIS, Sun May 6, 2012 – Socialist François Hollande swept to victory in France’s presidential election in a swing to the left at the heart of Europe that could start a pushback against German-led austerity.

La Liberté guidant le peuple – Eugène Delacroix (1830)

Hollande was set to beat conservative incumbent Nicolas Sarkozy by a decisive 51.6% to 48.1%, the TNS-Sofres polling agency said in a projection based on a partial vote count.

Sarkozy, punished for his failure to rein in record 10% unemployment and for his brash personal style, is the 11th successive leader in the euro zone to be swept from power since the currency bloc’s debt crisis began in 2009.

Jubilant left-wingers are celebrating (right now !) outside Socialist Party headquarters and in Paris’ Bastille square, where revelers danced in 1981 when François Mitterrand became France’s only other Socialist president. (REUTERS)