Looks like the Socialist candidate beat the conservative. This should make for something interesting to watch, provided he does everything he says he's going to do.
DIPLOMACY
Hollande is a diplomatic unknown who will set a five-year course for his nuclear-armed country with a permanent seat on the U.N. Security Council. Sarkozy is arguably the most America-friendly French leader in a half-century. He has aligned with Washington on Iran and Syria, upped France's military presence in Afghanistan and took a major role in NATO's air campaign over Libya that helped oust dictator Moammar Gadhafi. Hollande wants to bring French troops home from Afghanistan early and might be less vigorous in flexing military or diplomatic muscle abroad.
TAXES
Hollande wants the very rich to pay 75 percent in income taxes and plans to hike taxes on companies that distribute profits to shareholders instead of investing in their business. Sarkozy had pledged to reduce France's overall tax burden, among the highest in Europe, but promised a higher sales tax.
IMMIGRATION
Sarkozy wanted to halve the number of legal immigrants who enter France each year to 100,000 and to tighten border controls. Hollande would give residency to illegal immigrants on a case-by-case basis. The immigration debate has gotten tangled with a debate about Islamic customs in strongly secular France, home to at least 5 million Muslims.
Hollande is a diplomatic unknown who will set a five-year course for his nuclear-armed country with a permanent seat on the U.N. Security Council. Sarkozy is arguably the most America-friendly French leader in a half-century. He has aligned with Washington on Iran and Syria, upped France's military presence in Afghanistan and took a major role in NATO's air campaign over Libya that helped oust dictator Moammar Gadhafi. Hollande wants to bring French troops home from Afghanistan early and might be less vigorous in flexing military or diplomatic muscle abroad.
TAXES
Hollande wants the very rich to pay 75 percent in income taxes and plans to hike taxes on companies that distribute profits to shareholders instead of investing in their business. Sarkozy had pledged to reduce France's overall tax burden, among the highest in Europe, but promised a higher sales tax.
IMMIGRATION
Sarkozy wanted to halve the number of legal immigrants who enter France each year to 100,000 and to tighten border controls. Hollande would give residency to illegal immigrants on a case-by-case basis. The immigration debate has gotten tangled with a debate about Islamic customs in strongly secular France, home to at least 5 million Muslims.
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