François Hollande did not thank his opponent, Nicolas Sarkozy, during his acceptance speech, after defeating the incumbent with 51.6% of the vote in the French presidential runoff. But he should have, as he ran an anti-Sarkozy campaign, promising to behave like a "normal president" in contrast to the impulsive, unpredictable and sometimes ostentatious Sarkozy. And it worked: Fifty-five percent of the voters who cast a ballot for him did it to defeat Sarkozy rather than to elect Hollande. This victory comes after an odd campaign on both sides. Sarkozy started off courting the center by emphasizing his record of reforms and his role in solving the eurozone crisis with German Chancellor Angela Merkel. But in March, he decided to take a page from his own 2007 campaign and raid the extreme-right electorate of Marine Le Pen instead. He emphasized themes like immigration, Islam and the necessity for a more protective, even protectionist, Europe. This time, however, the strategy backfired. Le Pen got a historic score in the first round, while Sarkozy sowed confusion in his own camp -- and lost.
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Justin Vaïsse: French president Francois Hollande avoided making big promises
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France's debt is near 90% of GDP, and the 2011 deficit was 5.2%, says Vaïsse
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Hollande has to be fiscally responsible yet restore France's competitiveness, Vaïsse says
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Vaïsse: Europe must find a way to stimulate the economy without deepening the deficit
Hollande, betting on the @placeholder mood, refrained from making big promises, and even his signature reforms had a lot of fine print.