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France: Reactions to Presidential Election Results in Photos

Categories: Western Europe, France, Breaking News, Citizen Media, Elections, Politics

The 2012 French presidential election, the tenth presidential election of the Fifth Republic has delivered its verdict on May 6, 2012. Socialist candidate Francois Hollande [1] collected 51.90% of the votes against 48.10% for incumbent President Nicolas Sarkozy [2] in this second round of voting. The presidential election will be followed by parliamentary elections on June 10 and 17.

Awaiting the Results

Nicolas Sarkozy's supporters in Paris gathered at La Mutualité before moving to the Place de la Concorde (a last minute change had canceled the appointment at Place de la Concorde). Here is a picture of the room at La Mutualité at 7 pm:

[3]

Room at the Mutualité at 7 pm by @fgerschel on Twitter

Supporters of Francois Hollande gathered at Solferino Street before joining at the Bastille in case of a victory.

[4]

Bastille at 7 pm by @Laurent_Berbon on Twitter

The city of Tulle where Francois Hollande used to be the mayor, waited anxiously for the results:

[5]

The central square in Tulle by @webarticulista

Announcing the Results

An embargo in France on sharing results until 8pm led internet users to use several tricks [6] to discuss the forecasts published by foreign media. On Twitter, those using the hashtag #radiolondres [7], were unrivaled in ingenuity.

The Hash tag #radiolondres on Twitter

Joy and Sorrow

After the announcement of results, many activists celebrated:

[8]

Celebrations at Bastille @samschech

The disappointment was visible in the camp of outgoing President:

[9]

UMP (Sarkozy's party) activist in tears by @Alexsulzer

In front of La Mutualité, the mood was grim at the announcement of results:

[10]

In front of La Mutualité, activists learn the results by @eanizon

The end of campaign speeches for each candidate can be found on their respective websites: (François Hollande [11]  [fr] and Nicolas Sarkozy [12] [fr]).