France chose change in electing me, says Hollande

Hollande supporters celebrate at the Place Bellecour in Lyon on hearing the announcement of his election. AFP PHOTO

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InterAksyon.com
The online news portal of TV5

TULLE, France - French Socialist leader Francois Hollande thanked his supporters for electing him president on Sunday and promised to be a leader to unite the whole country.

"On this May 6, the French have just chosen change in bearing me to the office of president," the 57-year-old candidate declared before a wildly cheering crowd in his hometown of Tulle, in the rural Correze region.

Hollande said that he wanted to be judged over his five-year term with regard to how well he advanced the cause of fairness in society and the fate of the young, many of whom face unemployment and exclusion in France.

"It is the French dream that I will strive to make whole during the mandate that has just been given me," he said.

After the speech, the president-elect was due to fly back to Paris for a larger victory rally in the Place de la Bastille, a sacred space for the left, and he is expected to take over power from Nicolas Sarkoy on May 15.

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