Just one year ago, the idea that Francois Hollande would become France's next president would have been laughed at – even by some of his political allies.

Hollande had long been sidelined from France's national affairs. Longtime friends and colleagues compared him to a jiggly pudding, or the captain of a pedal boat – a way to suggest he had no political spine. He led the Socialist Party through 11 years – years fraught with divisions and two consecutive presidential defeats.

Now, Hollande will have to show the French, and the world, that he brings the talents of a statesman to the table, not just the fact that he's not Sarkozy.

Hollande, 57, won the presidency in a campaign that reflected his personality – slow and steady. Like the tortoise in Aesop's fable, he managed to overtake the hyperactive hare in front of him and win the race without ever igniting passions.

After a bitter campaign and five years under the often-divisive Sarkozy, Hollande promised to be the "president of everyone" and not just those who voted for him.He promised to reduce the budget deficit and preserve the French social model, and said youth and justice are his two top commitments.

Hollande promises to be a "normal" president, signaling a dramatic change of tone both at home and abroad for the French president after five years in which Sarkozy ruffled feathers with his aggressive, brash personality.

A majority of French voters disagreed Sunday. Hollande will have five years to prove his win was no accident.

滬江英語快訊：法國總統(tǒng)大選第二輪投票北京時間7日2時結(jié)束。根據(jù)初步計票結(jié)果顯示，57歲的社會黨候選人弗朗索瓦·奧朗德以51.9%的支持率戰(zhàn)勝現(xiàn)任總統(tǒng)、人民運動聯(lián)盟候選人薩科齊，贏得此次選舉。他承諾做一個“正常”的總統(tǒng)，主張削減財政赤字，并且不采取與希臘類似的財政緊縮政策。他認為，活力和公正，是他最重要的兩項承諾。此前這個溫和的男人，除了社會黨內(nèi)的職務(wù)外，并沒有任何的政府內(nèi)閣任職經(jīng)歷。他現(xiàn)在需要用接下來五年時間，來證明他的當(dāng)選，并不是一場意外。

法新社援引法國政治學(xué)者的評論指出，薩科齊失敗的原因是由于經(jīng)濟危機和他擔(dān)任總統(tǒng)職務(wù)的方式有錯誤。但是，接下來對奧朗德來說，也不會輕而易舉。奧朗德的上臺可能會影響法國國內(nèi)外政策，尤其是歐洲財政預(yù)算政策。