PARIS - Socialist candidate Francois Hollande won a narrow victory in Sunday's first round of the French presidential election, riding promises of economic growth and a general dislike for the incumbent, Nicolas Sarkozy, into a favorable position before a runoff with Sarkozy on May 6.
The strong showing by the left and anger on the political extremes seemed to reflect a desire for change in France after 17 years of centrist, conservative presidents. And it could continue an anti-incumbency trend that began with the economic crisis in Western Europe, where center-right governments dominate from Britain to Spain to Germany.
It may also represent the first stirrings of a challenge to the German-dominated narrative of the euro crisis, which holds that public debt and runaway spending are the main culprits and that austerity must precede growth. Over the weekend, the Dutch government was left tottering after failing to gain a majority in support of austerity measures, and demonstrators in the Czech Republic turned out in the greatest numbers since 1989 to protest a tax increase and budget cuts.
The French vote "is a reaction against austerity, and austerity is you," Hollande's campaign manager, Pierre Moscovici, said to the leader of Sarkozy's party, Jean-Francois Cope.
Hollande finished with 28.5 percent of the ballots cast and Sarkozy with 27.1 percent. They were followed by Marine Le Pen of the far-right National Front with 18.2 percent, Jean-Luc Melenchon of the Left Front party with 11.1 percent, centrist Francois Bayrou with 9.1 percent and five others with minimal support.
While Sarkozy's total was only a percentage point or two short of Hollande's, the view of most experts has been that unless Sarkozy took the first round, he would have a hard time winning the runoff. The strong showing by Le Pen gave some heart to Sarkozy's supporters, since the two share similar themes about immigration, radical Islam, and law and order. But a number of Le Pen voters have said they will abstain or vote against Sarkozy in the second round.
"This is an election that will weigh on the future of Europe," Hollande, 57, said after voting. "That's why many people are watching us. They're wondering not so much what the winner's name will be, but especially what policies will follow." Hollande said that in addition to increasing employment and helping the poor, he wanted "to reorient Europe on the path of growth and employment."
If he should win on May 6, France would emerge as a powerful voice for promoting economic growth in a period of recession in the eurozone and nearly flat growth even in France and Germany. As part of his emphasis on stimulating growth, Hollande has said he would try to renegotiate a European Union treaty agreed upon in December, under strong German pressure, to limit budget deficits and national debt. He wants the European Central Bank to tolerate more inflation and favors collective euro bonds for national debt, both ideas sharply opposed by Berlin.
For the next two weeks, Sarkozy will fight to gain voters who chose Le Pen or Bayrou, but they will be a difficult ideological straddle. Given Le Pen's strong showing, Sarkozy is considered more likely to appeal to the right, trying to turn the second round into a referendum on the perceived weaknesses of Hollande in the face of economic crisis and international difficulties. On Sunday night, Sarkozy attacked the Socialist program as vague and called for three debates in the next two weeks; Hollande said he would agree to only one.
