In the final round of polling on Sunday, May 6, conservative Nicolas Sarkozy claimed the French presidency with 53 percent of the vote.

His Socialist Party opponent, Segolene Royal, garnered 46 percent and had already trailed in the polls in the run-up to the election. She would have been France's first female president.

Click on the links below for more about the election, the issues facing France and what Sarkozy's win means for his country.