First projections have Hollande as a winner of the French presidential elections with 51.9 per cent of the vote.

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The AP news agency reports that Sarkozy is taking the defeat with a stiff upper lip:

France's President Nicolas Sarkozy urged his right-wing UMP party to remain united after his re-election bid was defeated on Sunday, but warned he would not lead it into June's parliamentary elections.

'Stay together. We must win the battle of the legislatives. I will not lead that campaign,' he told senior party figures as he read them a draft of his concession speech, according to political sources at the meeting.