Socialist Francois Hollande defeated conservative incumbent Nicolas Sarkozy on Sunday to become France’s next president, heralding a change in how Europe tackles its debt crisis and how France flexes its military and diplomatic muscle around the world.
Sarkozy conceded defeat minutes after the polls closed, saying he had called Hollande to wish him “good luck” as the country’s new leader.
Global News profiles the new French president, whose platform included job creation, taxing the rich and a commitment to pull French troops from Afghanistan.
François Hollande
Background: Hollande is 57, born in the north of France in Seine-Maritime. While Sarkozy is married to former model Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, his third wife, Hollande is married to French journalist Valerie Trierweiler. He is separated from his previous partner, Segolene Royale, who was the Socialist runner-up to Sarkozy in 2007.
Political life: Hollande represents the central region of Correze and has led the Socialist Party from 1997 to 2008. He is a former advisor to France’s last Socialist president, Francois Mitterand. Media reports usually call him pragmatic, centre-left and refer to his promise to shift away from France’s current austerity measures.
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Economic platform: Hollande promises to balance the books by 2017. He is against policy based only on austerity and his first step once elected, he says, will be to renegotiate the European treaty on fiscal discipline that 25 leaders agreed upon in March. With a shaky European economy, this could be why other world leaders are watching Hollande’s rise to fame closely and are backing Sarkozy for a second term.
Job growth and taxes: Hollande’s campaign points to €20 billion of spending over five years to boost jobs, including 150,000 state-aided positions and 60,000 spots in education. He also plans to slash tax breaks for the wealthy – the rich could even be slapped with a 75 per cent tax rate if they earn more than €1 million a year, and 45 per cent for those taking home more than €150,000. He has even promised to cut the president’s salary.
Social policy: While Sarkozy opposes gay marriage, Hollande says he will authorize gay marriage and adoption for gay couples. In an attempt to sway the female vote, he’s also planning to create a ministry of women’s rights and will allocate half of his ministerial posts in his cabinet to women, if elected.
Hollande has also promised to pull French troops out of Afghanistan by the end of 2012.
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