President Hollande

FOR the first time in 24 years, the French have elected a Socialist, François Hollande, as their next president. According to exit polls published at 8pm Paris time on Sunday evening, Mr Hollande secured a convincing 52% of the vote, giving him the majority he needs to unseat the incumbent president, Nicolas Sarkozy.

The result was in line with polls throughout the election campaign. Although the final result was closer than many had predicted until the closing days, it was a solid victory, if not quite as good as the 53% that Mr Sarkozy won in 2007. Based on a high voter turnout, it hands Mr Hollande a clear mandate. He will become only the second Socialist president, after François Mitterrand, under the Fifth Republic.

Even before the results were declared, there was evidence of victory preparations in Paris. Barricades and mobile mini-cranes could be seen earlier in the day at the Place de la Bastille, where Mr Hollande is expected to speak to tens of thousands of jubilant supporters later this evening. He spent the day (and voted) in Corrèze, in rural France, where he presides over the departmental council.

The result was as symbolic for the right as it was for the left. Mr Sarkozy enters the history books as only the second president, after Valéry Giscard d'Estaing, in 1981, to fail to win a re-election bid under the Fifth Republic. His last-minute chase for the far-right vote of Marine Le Pen, with talk of “too many immigrants”, helped him to narrow the gap. But it was deeply distasteful to many others, and not enough to make a difference.

Despite throwing himself into a vigorous campaign, Mr Sarkozy failed to persuade enough voters that the inexperienced Mr Hollande did not have what it takes to be president—or to overcome a prevailing desire in France for change. His defeat opens a new chapter on the political right, with an ensuing succession battle that could be bloody.

One of Mr Hollande's first tasks will be to name a prime minister, which he refused to do during the campaign. Jean-Marc Ayrault, the 60-year-old leader of the Socialist parliamentary group is a front-runner, as he is both a loyal party stalwart and has good links to Germany. The other favourite, whose nomination would send a stronger signal to the left, is Martine Aubry, the mayor of Lille, and one-time architect of France's 35-hour working week.

Mr Hollande's other concern will be to build trust with Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, who backed Mr Sarkozy for president. Mr Hollande has said clearly that he wants to “renegotiate” Europe's fiscal compact—which Mrs Merkel considers the cornerstone of stability in the euro zone—in order to emphasise growth over austerity.