News Desk: In a big setback to French President Nicolas Sarkozy, he was beaten into second place by the Socialist candidate Francois Hollande in presidential elections on Sunday.


Hollande came in first beating Sarkozy by just over a percentage point. While Hollande had 28.63% votes, Sarkozy had 27.18% supports. However, the two will face each other in a run-off on May 6 as no one has got a majority in the first round.


Sarkozy has played a key role in handling the international issues like Libya and Syria wars during the European debt crisis.  However, he had hit the headlines not for his administration but for his romance with model-cum-singer spouse Carla Bruni.


This time, the domestic economy was the prime focus of the elections.


France has been struggling to improve its economy and employment. The National Front candidate Marine Le Pen described Sarkozy as "the outgoing president" and characterised her party as "the only opposition".

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