According to reported early estimates
Socialist Francois Hollande has been elected as France’s new president, early estimates say.
He got about 52% of votes in Sunday’s run-off, according to projections based on partial results, against 48% for centre-right incumbent Nicolas Sarkozy.
The Guardian’s live-blog will have further updates.
As for what it means for the fiscal pact, and the wider Euro crisis, I think the results in Greece may prove to be more significant.
Exit polls in the Greek parliamentary election suggest the two main parties have suffered dramatic losses.
The latest polls put centre-right New Democracy in the lead with 19-20.5% of the vote, down from 33.5% in 2009.
Centre-left Pasok is put in third place with 13-14%, down from 43.9%. Syriza, a left-wing coalition, is put ahead of it in second place with 15.5-17%.
….
Othan Anastasakis, director of south-east European studies at Oxford University, said it would be “incredible” if no party won more than 20% of the vote.
“This is really unprecedented, he said.
“The whole landscape becomes even more unpredictable after the election. We don’t know if there will be a coalition or how long it will survive. I don’t see it surviving very long.
“Greeks are sending a very strong message abroad, which is ‘enough with austerity’.”