Mr Sarkozy added that serving a full term would not necessarily mean freedom.

BBC: Mr Sarkozy met the assaulted boy's father

In failing to win a second term Sunday, Mr. Sarkozy added his name to the list of euro-zone leaders swept away in the crisis.

WSJ: Hollande Elected French President

He added that French President Nicolas Sarkozy was "following the case with great attention and shares the minister's hope that the situation can be quickly resolved".

BBC: Roman Polanski in Swiss detention

Mr Sarkozy has drawn another lesson from the Georgian crisis, it is added: that the EU needs its own defence capability if it wants to be taken seriously.

ECONOMIST: Europe frets about its place in a different world order

Before the first round of voting, former President Jacques Chirac added his support to Hollande, though Chirac was a center-right president, like Sarkozy.

CNN: Fran?ois Hollande: Left turn for France?