I am best placed to lead France: Francois Hollande

The Socialist winner of France`s first round of Presidential Election, Francois Hollande, said voters "punished" incumbent Nicolas Sarkozy.

Tulle: The Socialist winner of France`s first round of Presidential Election, Francois Hollande, said on Sunday he was best placed to be president after voters "punished" incumbent Nicolas Sarkozy.

"I am today the best placed candidate to become the next French president," Hollande told a large crowd in his constituency in central France, after getting more votes than incumbent Nicolas Sarkozy ahead of a May 06 run-off.

"The second major lesson to draw from this election -- and this is undeniable -- is that the first round was a punishment and a rejection of the incumbent," he said, to cheers.

Hollande won between 28 and 29 percent of the vote in the first round, to Sarkozy`s 25.5 to 27, according to estimates compiled from ballot samples. (AFP)

PTI

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