NEW FRENCH PRESIDENT: Francois Hollande, a moderate Socialist with an easy smile, was elected president of France on Sunday, exit polls showed, narrowly defeating the incumbent, Nicolas Sarkozy, a conservative whose five-year term was undermined by Europe’s economic crisis and his combative personality.

Hollande wins French presidential vote over Sarkozy, exit polls show

Francois Hollande, a moderate Socialist with an easy smile, was elected president of France on Sunday, exit polls showed, narrowly defeating the incumbent, Nicolas Sarkozy, a conservative whose five-year term was undermined by Europe’s economic crisis and his combative personality.