The new President of France is Francois Hollande. The leader of the Socialist party, on 6 May he beat Nicholas Sarkozy, who is head of the conservative UMP party and the previous President.

This will be Hollande's first experience of ministerial office. In many ways he was a surprise candidate; the former party leader was Dominique Strauss-Kahn, who had to quit the party leadership after a series of revelations and scandals about his private life. Francois Hollande, compared to Strauss-Kahn, is seen as a quiet, moderate figure, less well known than his one-time partner, Segolene Royal, a former presidential candidate who now has a place in his cabinet.

So far the indications are that the new President will take a different economic line from the old one. Sarkozy supported the austerity programme of Angela Merkel - in fact the pair were often known as Merkozy, they were so close - but Hollande favours policies aimed at helping growth rather than just saving money.