Sarkozy defeated by left-wing opponent in presidential election

Center-right French President Nicolas Sarkozy lost his office Sunday after the Socialist party triumphed in France"s presidential election.

Francois Hollande will be France"s first left-wing president since Francois Mitterrand left office in 1995.

Sarkozy, who divorced his wife and married the glamorous Carla Bruni while in office, became president in 2007, when he beat Segolene Royal, Hollande"s then-wife.

Young people celebrated in the streets of Paris, more to cheer the ouster of the corruption-dogged "Sarko” as the victory of Hollande.

Unemployment and the euro crisis dominated the campaign. Interest in the election was high and tuout was pegged as high as 80%.

Le Figaro and France TV said the vote was close: about 52-48.

Francois Hollande

Hollande promised to tax the rich and big corporations rather than focus on spending cuts, and to lower the retirement age from 62 to 60.

Sarkozy"s defeat makes him the ninth European leader to kicked out of office since the debt crisis began.

In the final weeks of the campaign, he courted the supporters of far-right xenophobic leader Marine Le Pen with promises to crack down on immigration.

In the end, even Le Pen refused to endorse him.