Two hours before the official results of the French presidential elections, no Paris visitor could ignore that a historical political change was about to happen. Down Paris' Left Bank boulevards, throngs of flag-waving young and not-so-young people were flocking towards the Socialist headquarters near the National Assembly. Cyclists were ringing their bells, cars blowing their horns and François Hollande's sympathizers chanting "Victoire!" Nicolas Sarkozy had just canceled a planned celebration at Concorde and the place, where the guillotine once stood, was alarmingly quiet and deserted.
Nicolas Sarkozy on Sunday conceded defeat in his bid for re-election as French president, accepting the blame for the result.
The two contenders for the French presidency entered the final day of campaigning Friday, with opinion polls giving challenger Francois Hollande the edge over President Nicolas Sarkozy.
In a combative televised debate, President Nicolas Sarkozy and challenger Francois Hollande focused on the economy.
The two men vying to be the next French president bicker during a televised debate. Jim Bittermann reports.
The campaign of French presidential front-runner Francois Hollande called for a criminal investigation into President Nicolas Sarkozy after a media report Saturday accused the president of taking 50 million euros ($66.3 million) for his 2007 campaign from then-Libyan strongman Moammar Gadhafi.
French presidential frontrunner Francois Hollande vowed Friday to crack down on illegal immigration, as he and incumbent Nicolas Sarkozy battle to win over the public ahead of a second-round vote.
The lessons of the first round of the French presidential elections are multiple and somewhat contradictory.
It has been 17 years since France had a president from the left, but that might be about to change.
CNN's Fareed Zakaria takes a look at the candidates in this year's French elections, their platforms and the big issues.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy courted far-right voters Monday in advance of a May 6 runoff against Socialist Francois Hollande, who won the most support in the first round of France's presidential elections.
France's presidential hopefuls make last-minute pitches a week before first balloting. CNN's Jim Bittermann reports.
Pollsters had told us that the French were bored by a dull campaign which had seen more personal attacks flying than issues being debated. They were wrong.
French presidential candidates are utilizing social media as never before. CNN's Jim Bittermann reports.
France's presidential contenders are making their final appeal to voters Friday on the last day of campaigning before they go to the polls Sunday.
Can an election be won on social media? That question is being increasingly asked in France, before the first round of the presidential election.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy calls for unity after the death of a man suspected in a string of shootings.
Re-election to the Elysée Palace was looking like mission impossible for President Nicolas Sarkozy: Trailing far behind the socialist candidate François Hollande in the polls for months, Sarkozy had only just recently narrowed his rival's lead, but only at the price of a pugnacious and robust few weeks of campaigning, exploiting the extreme right's favorite themes, immigration and halal meat.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy on Monday night put the country's southwest region on the highest possible security alert level, hours after a teacher and three children were gunned down at a Jewish school in Toulouse.
CNN's Jim Bittermann says Nicolas Sarkozy's "too many foreigners" statement is a blatant play for extreme right voters.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy officially announced Wednesday that he is running for re-election.
French presidential candidate Francois Hollande opened the new year with a shot across the bow of rival President Nicolas Sarkozy Tuesday.
Ahead of a key summit this week, the leaders of France and Germany agreed Monday on a new fiscal pact that they say will help prevent another debt crisis.
France and Germany would like heads of state to meet monthly to look at the economic governing of the eurozone, French President Nicolas Sarkozy said Monday.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy agreed on Thursday to put forward an overall plan to change the EU's treaties.
CNN's Juliet Mann talks with EU Trade Commissioner Karel De Gucht about succeeding in European business.
Three French humanitarian workers who were set free after being held captive for more than five months will soon be reunited with their families, a statement from the French Minister for Foreign and European affairs said Monday.
Three French humanitarian workers held for more than five months were set free Sunday evening, according to a statement from France's president.
Presidents Obama and Sarkozy may regret their private opinions of the Israeli PM, but they aren't the first mic gaffes.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel presented a united front Sunday in the face of regional economic woes, but offered few details about how they would solve financial problems.
CNN's Frederik Pleitgen reports on the meeting between German Chancellor Angela Merkel and IMF Chief Christine Lagarde.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy said Wednesday his Syrian counterpart Bashar al-Assad had committed "irreparable" damage in his government's crackdown on anti-government protests in recent months.
The leaders of Europe's two most important economies meet Tuesday to try to help the battered euro, even as new figures show economic growth on the continent is stalling.
The man who grabbed French President Nicolas Sarkozy by his shoulder and pulled him up against a barricade was given a six-month suspended sentence Friday and allowed to leave the court freely.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy was grabbed and nearly pulled to the ground by an unknown assailant in Brax, France.
A man grabbed French President Nicolas Sarkozy by his shoulder and pulled him up against a barricade Thursday before being tackled by security officers.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy insists Europe will never give up on the euro, despite widespread fears for the currency's future.
U.S. President Barack Obama will meet with French President Nicolas Sarkozy at the White House on January 10, according to a White House statement released Tuesday.
Top officials in Moscow have accepted a French offer to help supply the Russian navy with two new amphibious assault warships, French President Nicolas Sarkozy's office said Friday.
France's president shuffled his cabinet, keeping his prime minister but replacing others. CNN's Jim Bittermann reports.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy reappointed Francois Fillon as prime minister on Sunday, but named new defense and foreign ministers in a cabinet reshuffle ahead of the 2012 presidential election.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy signed the country's controversial pension reform bill Wednesday, the last step in making the bill a law.
Demonstrators returned to the streets across France Saturday to protest changes to the country's retirement law, but the numbers of marchers were lower than they had been in previous weeks.
France's National Assembly passed a controversial bill to raise the national retirement age Wednesday after a tumultuous legislative session that ran through the night and included insults and name-calling on both sides.
A plan to reform the national pension plan in France lead to disruptions on the streets. CNN's Jim Bittermann reports.
Hurling insults against French President Nicolas Sarkozy, crowds of demonstrators marched through the boulevards of eastern Paris to protest his anti-crime measures.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy's crackdown on immigrants draws fire at home and abroad. CNN's Jim Bittermann reports.
French hostage Michel Germaneau has been executed by his al Qaeda-linked captors in the north African country of Mauritania, French President Nicolas Sarkozy said Monday.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy on Monday defended his labor minister amidst of allegations of illegal campaign contributions.
French president Nicolas Sarkozy defends his labor minister from allegations of illegal campaign contributions.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy spoke out Tuesday after being linked to alleged illegal payments from France's richest woman, L'Oreal heiress Liliane Bettencourt.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy said Thursday that he and German Chancellor Angela Merkel agree on how to handle Europe's financial woes.
France's president discusses a wide range of topics during a speech in New York. CNN's Richard Roth reports.
President Obama and French President Nicolas Sarkozy on Tuesday pledged mutual support for tougher U.N. sanctions against Iran over Tehran's refusal to comply with international regulations regarding its nuclear energy program.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy's center-right party emerged badly battered after regional elections on Sunday, Interior Ministry figures showed Monday.
France's President Nicolas Sarkozy made a landmark visit to Haiti Wednesday, announcing more than $100 million of additional aid to the former French colony where 212,000 people were killed by an earthquake five weeks ago.
CNN's Richard Quest analyzes French President Nicolas Sarkozy's opening remarks at the World Economic Forum.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy walked into the lion's den of capitalism in Davos Wednesday and rammed his message of reform down the throats of the world's bankers and chief executives.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy threw his weight behind Barack Obama's bank reform plan as he delivered his keynote speech at the 40th World Economic Forum at Davos Wednesday.
At the World Economic Forum, French Pres. Nicolas Sarkozy calls for tighter financial regulations, including pay limits.
President Nicolas Sarkozy tried to reassure France Wednesday that his health was in no danger following an emergency trip to a hospital on Sunday.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy's collapse while jogging and subsequent hospitalization prompted speculation and concern Monday in France over the 54-year-old's state of health.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy was released from hospital Monday morning following a night spent under observation after he collapsed while jogging in woodlands near Paris.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy became faint while jogging late Sunday morning and was taken to a hospital, the presidential office said.
The French Senate began debate Tuesday on a law that would mark a significant cultural shift -- allowing many more shops across the country to open on Sundays.
It's the perfect romantic scene. A dashing world leader drops in on his model wife, she touches him affectionately as their dogs play at their feet.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy insisted Wednesday that new financial regulation is a "non-negotiable" aim of the G-20 Summit in London, as world leaders gathered for the event.
In France, young, old and those in-between will be watching the G-20 leaders carefully. CNN's Jim Bittermann reports.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy wants a "real transformation" of international financial regulations out of this week's G-20 summit in London, a spokesman said Tuesday amid reports that Sarkozy will walk out of the gathering if he's not satisfied.
Press compares First Lady Carla Bruni to Marie-Antoinette after lavish vacation
French President Nicolas Sarkozy made a surprise visit to Baghdad Tuesday on a trip seen as aimed at raising his country's stake in Iraqi reconstruction and easing frictions with Washington over the U.S.-led invasion of 2003.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy held his long-awaited meeting with the Dalai Lama, despite warnings from China.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy says he will commit €26 billion -- $33 billion -- to relaunch the French economy, as the cost of doing nothing would be far worse.
Talking can't hurt, but experts say neither the US nor developing economies are ready to sign up for stiffer global rules
It's been pretty scary for the rest of us. So just imagine what it is like as a president or prime minister, waking up to hear the headlines on the latest stock market nosedive or threatened national bankruptcy -- and knowing that you have actually got to DO something about the situation.
President Bush and French President Nicolas Sarkozy meet to discuss the financial crisis. CNN's Kathleen Koch reports.
U.S. President George W. Bush plans to host French President Nicolas Sarkozy and EU President Jose Manuel Barroso at Camp David Saturday to discuss the global financial situation.
Italy is outraged over the French government's decision not to extradite a
convicted left-wing terrorist
The leaders of 15 European nations agreed on Sunday to shore up troubled banks as part of a broad plan to ease the global financial crisis.
Leaders of 15 Eurozone nations held an emergency meeting in Paris. CNN's Jim Bittermann reports
CNNMoney: World rushes to a fixupdated: Sun Oct 12 2008 18:40:00
The world's leading nations stepped up their efforts Sunday to stem the fallout from the worst global financial crisis in decades.
Nations in Europe's single-currency zone agreed Sunday to temporarily guarantee bank refinancing
The leaders of 15 European nations agreed on Sunday to a plan to ease the global financial crisis by shoring up troubled banks.
France's conservative President Nicolas Sarkozy finds himself echoing long-standing positions of his Socialist opposition
Heard the one about the film comedian, the transferred policeman and the French President? It's not funny, fume critics
French President Nicolas Sarkozy visited French troops outside the Afghan capital on Wednesday as they mourned the deaths of 10 soldiers killed in fighting with Islamic militants.
Not only has the French president backed down on threats to boycott the Olympics opening ceremony, he's also called off a meeting with the Dalai Lama
French first lady Carla Bruni-Sarkozy says her husband was not upset when he learned of all the nude photos she did during her modeling days
The European Union will not draft a new treaty after Irish voters rejected the existing one last month, French President Nicolas Sarkozy said Wednesday.
Nicolas Sarkozy had intended to take Europe by storm with an exciting new agenda when France inherited the six-month revolving presidency of the EU on July 1. Instead he is being buffeted by storms of others' making, forced into a patch-and-mend role on the European constitution.
France has officially taken over the six-month presidency of the European Union
from Slovenia, and the French President has already promised an action-packed program
An Israeli soldier committed suicide at Tel Aviv's airport during a departure ceremony for French President Nicolas Sarkozy, prompting security guards to whisk Sarkozy and his wife into their plane.
The French President's recent guest list of world leaders hasn't done a lot for his approval ratings. The American President's last visit probably won't either
A day of protests over pension reform plan brings train services across France to a halt.
The French President loses a vote on genetically modified crops, revealing divisions within the French right
Dramatic video released by the French defense ministry this week shows French helicopters pursuing Somali pirates through the desert as they tried to escape following a weeklong hijacking.
A new spate of domestic woes -- such as the spectacle of his own cabinet engaging in a public spat -- risk dragging him down
© 2013 Cable News Network. Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
|