today they fired french president nicolas sarkozy. he will be replaced by socialist francois hollande. sarkozy becomes the highest profile european leader ousted during the region's economic crisis. cnn's senior european correspondent jim bittermann joins us live from paris. jim? >> reporter: you know how they say you should have been here a day ago. you should have been here an hour and 15 minutes ago. this place was packed with sar k cozy supporters thinking he had a chance to win and he didn't win. he conceded defeat almost immediately when the numbers came from the television networks across the country, the exit polls. here is a little bit of the concession speech he gave to the followers here. >> translator: trance hfrance h republic, a new president, this is a choice. francois hollande is the president of france and must be respected. >> reporter: and while the crowd here is thinning out, one of the things that sarkozy said was that he was going to remain engaged in politics and that was a reference to something that is going t

president nicolas sarkozy has lost his

sarkozy facing an uphill struggle, isn't he? >> yes, and he only has until midnight tonight on the campaign trail. it ends officially there. french people then have one day to think thinks over, and off they go to the polling stations on sunday. nicolas sarkozy, though, says he can still do it. he's not used to being an underdog. he's more of a bulldog in french politics. but can he really do it? somebody who can answer us, or at least thinks he can answer us, is someone from the opinion polling agency. what would you bet? >> well, i think it's not ready to do that. normally on sunday night, possibly should be the next president of the country, because after the first round, the difficulty of sarkozy to gather voters, especially on the far right, is very difficult. we still have only 50% of them. >> he moved very fast, but he still hasn't really tempted them, according to polls. >> yes, because most of them are more further, but they also think that he has betrayed them and didn't really achieve to do what he said he was going t

sarkozy. what he is basically saying is he is going to allow some people to retire at 60 who had already worked from the age of 18 and built up all their contributions. i think he's going to inevitably be in the center. jim is right that he has to take care of his left support before, running you up to the legislative elections in june am but i think he's already been sending signals, perhaps not strong enough to really get the message across but he has been sending signals that he's going to look after the public finances. we don't yet know the details of how he's going to do it in terms of spending cuts. and that is going to be an october stack el for him when he tells people how he is going to do that because that go toing to hurtment but i think this man knows perfectly well, what the constraints are and that's why he needs to get from the other european leaders a package of growth measures so can come home and say look, i've got these measures that sarkozy never got from angela merkel in

sarkozy or his opponent in the final round on sunday. we report from paris. >> the french far right leader is at the center of attention. in at the first round of elections, over 6 million people voted for her. she had promised that on a day she would advise her supporters had to vote on sunday's decisive round. whether to back president sarkozy or the socialist candidate, francois hollande. president sarkozy will need many of these votes from the far right if he is to make it into the palace for a second term. in recent days, he has been seen sang several things normally associated with the far right. despite his frequent attacks on immigration, these voters aren't convinced. >> he has the same attitude had five years ago. he is saying whatever marine le pen is saying to have our votes. >> this woman had voted for president sarkozy in the past but said he had failed to live up to his promise. in the event, marine le pen refused to endorse either candidate, a setback for president sarkozy. >> i do not trust either of the candidates. one

francois hollande and nicolas sarkozy fight for every vote. can edvard munch's "the scream" really be worth $120 million. it is midday in london, 7:00 7:00 in washington, and en the evening in beijing. this time yesterday we reported there was a deal between china and the united states, allowing chen guangcheng tuesday in the country in safety. mr. chen says he fears for his family. the china break the deal, or was america too keen to be rid of an embarrassing problem? martin patience, what is the latest? >> this is a remarkable story that keeps developing. earlier, u.s. secretary of state hillary clinton was speaking about human rights. then we hear from the man who is dominating this. at a beijing hospital, this is the man at the center of an extraordinary diplomatic dispute. chen guangcheng angered china's showing thatafter exploitin thousands of women were forced to have abortions. he took refuge at the u.s. embassy, triggering a diplomatic standoff. chen guangcheng would stay in china, his safety guaranteed. he was accompanied to the hosp

sarkozy is closing the gap but still as you can see 47.5% for sarkozy, 55.2 for hollande. is not in a position to win this election. the second newspaper, quoting what the hollande said yesterday. the line chosen by sarkozy is in contradiction with our values. the values of the social right clearly mentioning the position that sarkozy adopted after the first round. decided to speak to the voters on the extreme right and that's why he's lost the support of the centrist leader. it looks like hollande will win the election. of course it's not done yet, but the question is what consequences for the business community. there is concern about the pension reform that sarkozy implemented some these years ago, but overall feeling is that hollande has softened his position especially on the financial sector and the banking regulation. and after given all the promises that sarkozy made five years ago, hollande might not be the worst solution. that's what i've heard on the ground in the last couple of days. chloe, back to you. >> it's getting juicier and juicier as we get closer to th

president nicolas sarkozy has been voted out of office. socialist challenger francois hollande won today's election by a narrow margin. the country's high unemployment rate has been a critical issue in the race. sarkozy says he takes full responsibility for the defeat. >>> tuesday voters in north carolina will decide whether to approve the state's marriage amendment act. if passed, it goes beyond a ban on same-sex marriage, which is also already in effect in the state. it would effectively ban civil unions and domestic partnerships, too. here's the language voters are considering. marriage between one man and one woman is the only domestic legal union that shall be valid or recognized in the state. the amendment got a big boost this week when evangelist reverend billy graham, a north carolina resident, came out in favor of the initiative. former president bill clinton said he opposes amendment one, and this morning vice president joe biden said he was absolutely comfortable with the idea of same-gender marriage. >> i just think that the go

sarkozy, he said i wish him best in his new life and all this stuff as being a hyper president as sarkozy was called. supposedly, the president of france enacts things with his government, and nicolas sarkozy breeched that custom by becoming this very, very active president. but in a sense, that's something that comes with the change of the presidency that happens since the five-year term came in, and i don't think it will be as easy for former president sarkozy to distance himself from all that. you know what i mean berlin are watching not in the least because the french president will be making his way there shortly. but also as it will be fascinating to see how he builds his relationship with angela merkel. steve is in berlin for us. steve, it's going to be an intriguing first meeting, isn't it? >> absolutely, david. in a way the easy part of his day is now over. though not down the business immediately. there will be a military welcome and a very nice dinner on the eighth floor of the chancellor's office. but at the end of it all, a new path for europe, people will be saying well, wha

now hollande who beat nicolas sarkozy, by the way, with a very small margin, 1% or 2%. he will become naug rift and become the first socialist president almost 25 years ago. so it's a huge victory for the left in this country. the left is feeling that victory in a visceral way. it's a victory that wasn't just a protest vote against sarkozy's often-talked-about brash style, his hobnobbing with the rich and naims, b famous but also a protest against his basic inability to deal with the debt crisis in this country. >> as you said, he was in the wrong place at the wrong time historically speaking. jim asade da, we appreciate your reporting. >>> we turn to politics here at home. mitt romney heading to cleveland, ohio, this afternoon just days after president obama launched his reelection bid in that state. the president's saturday rally part of an official campaign kickoff where he warned against a republican vision that, in his words, would, quote, turn back the clock. >> now we face a choice. for the last few years the republicans who run this congress have insisted that w

she had said that she would support sarkozy. think we can also expect a more adversarial relationship. francois hollande has made clear that he plans to push the germans. but we're hearing german leaders saying today they're not going to be ready to pay for a fresh stimulus program, so there will be some pushing back. but in the end, expect to see pragmatism prevailed. france and germany have to work together. they are the tandem the polls the rest of europe, particularly given the instability in greece. they will be looking for ways to cooperate. and i think both leaders clearly know that they are going to have to come up with some kind of compromise, the fiscal pact not likely to be renegotiated. perhaps what we will see is some symbolic growth pact in addition with measures that perhaps, in the end, are very much a symbolic given the very limited freedom to maneuver here. >> as ever, to is a very much. >> and of course, investors were watching closely as all the election results came in. after opening sharply lower at the sta

fiscal pact and agreement championed by his rival nicolas sarkozy. reports. well one day to go before the french at the polls and make that decisive vote and even the city itself is preparing to usher it that's president now it's down to two men incumbent nicolas sarkozy of a socialist challenger ponce or log into the polls is still actually behind the law but there is still that question mark as to who the voters of but the plan of the national front and center is france will by whom who are they going to choose for the site that crowd already will suddenly be choosing between a man or laws be claims that he will bring back all of you to the country also want to go head to head with german chancellor angela merkel to challenge the fiscal pact that he says is bad for us on the other hand you have a man of substance you claim that he is the only one who can prevent france from going down the path but at least they had all the trouble to resort nations have gone down but there is a group of people who believe that they don't really have a choice when it comes t

the frontrunner and incumbent, nicolas sarkozy is at its narrowist. our bbc continue following each and every buildup. katya? >> it's actually quite nail biting. as many people here saying there's rarely in recent years been such a close call in the second round of the elections. it's about economic politics. french people say the economy is number one on their mind and the international market is watching. this is a huge european economy. who will be president will affect the economic policies in the euro zone. joining me to have a chat more about what it could mean is the university's expert. francois hollande is in the lead. can he really do what he is promising? >> well, for instance that he is going to create 60 extra public jobs. and i think that's quite difficult when you want to reduce the state. but i think there are -- they are really fearing he might come into power. it could also destroy the couple between -- because she doesn't want of the -- and nicolas sarkozy has been so close to angela merkel. they have been at the forefront of how to

this is something that sarkozy plays on. it is really interesting to see, because sarkozy does not have anything to lose. >> turning to the challenger, hollande is the front runner, and he has a lot to lose. what kind of strategy is he using? >> no, people have described him as being a bit bland so far, and of course he knows that he has to get a bit of character as well to this debate. so he is trying to show people that he can be charismatic as well, and he makes jokes. he makes a bit of fun of nicolas sarkozy when he interrupts him, for instance. it will be very interesting. >> we will be coming back to you later. thank you, nina. as we heard, there is a big meeting going on here in berlin today on the international space station, that $100 billion laboratory orbiting the earth. >> everyone thinks that is money well spent, but you often find that technologies developed for manned space travel can help down here on earth. >> here is a look at some of the research taking place on and off the iss. >> at the micro gravity use

in the end, it was close but hollande held off a late comeback by incumbent nicolas sarkozy. we're no longer doomed to face austerity, hollande told his supporters. but many french tonight would argue that sarkozy beat himself. i bear responsibility, he said. i didn't succeed in making the values we share win. middle-class french like dan and his partner, celine, both upwardly mobile, voted for sarkozy in 2007, before the recession. but like so many others, they grew tired of his brash style, his rich friends, his celebrity wife carla bruni at his side. but most of all they rejected the failure of his austerity plan to get france out of its economic doldrums. >> i cannot believe he could win when over two-thirds of the country hate him so much. >> reporter: they voted for hollande. it was a tough decision. >> i think he's an honest guy, a good guy. but i'm not sure he will be able to run the country. >> reporter: hollande has promised to trigger growth and jobs by taxing the wealthy. but many french fear more taxes will be less growth and more debt. filled with prices and une

from heads to polls in a runoff world which will define whether nicolas sarkozy will with the latest lead to swept from his post why the crippling debt crisis. the presidential campaign is marred by escalating violence as protests against the military rulers turn from being peaceful and and and deadly clash it's. also in other news the trains this week russia's north caucasus is wrong by twin towers attacks in the republic of dagestan that left thirteen people dead and more than a hundred injured. plus an anti-government rally is expected in moscow a day before bloody immigration returns to the ground and the trim it that it needs will take a look at the neck you see all the outgoing president. hello and welcome to our c twenty four hour news live from moscow. with the natives news on the review of the week's events plus polls have opened and france says millions choose between the two candidates in their runoff vote the defending president nicolas sarkozy has a right to claim as the election is on a nice age as he closed in on why the francois landed the final polls saying that visi

sarkozy, it is a lie, it is a lie, it is a lie. when you say i am always happy about france, when you said i do not live up to my responsibilities, it is a lie. it is easy to form the impression they did not like each other as they traded accusations. that is the difference between you and me. i protect the children of the republic. you protect the privileged. >> you want to make deeper poor. i want to make people richer. so far he has not been able to land a killer blow and mr. hollande @ rehm,. it is president sarkozy who needs to come out of this wealtwith momentum for his camp. >> the u.s. security council has threatened sedan and south sudan -- sudan and south sudan. they want to renew talks. at least 20 people have been killed on an attack on the ministry of defense in cairo. they were protesting about the exclusion of a hard-line islamist candidate in the upcoming election. ukraine has insisted it will host the 2012 matches. authorities have denied she has been beaten in prison. she was jailed for abuse of office. unemployme

could be the end of the road for french president nicolas sarkozy.s election day in france, and people are predicting a blowout. we'll get a live update from paris coming up. >>> also, legendary investor warren buffett has bad news for homeowners. he is also telling us who will win the november presidential election. >>> plus, as more of our troops return home from war, they're dealing with re-intig grating back into civilian life. one soldier is not only sharing his story, but he is rapping about it. and, finally, two dolphins saved from a tourist trap in turkey are training for their return to the wild. the story coming up on cnn weekend early start. @@ ♪ well, it's a night for a moon dance with the stars up above in your eyes ♪ ♪ a fantabulous night >> it was a fabulous night for a moon dance, right? the super moon was out, and miami certainly a wonderful place to see it on the horizon there. if you had good weather and a clear ki last night, well, you may have caught a glimpse of this. take a look. the super moon. the biggest and brightest full m

then president sarkozy arrived. he described himself as determined, but not extremely determined. >> the expected audience, 20 million. the last chance for the president to fight back and win a second term. almost immediately, they were arguing. let me teach you something, said the president. let me assure you said francois hollande, you cannot teach me anything. and so it continued. francois hollande went on the attack. you have real and the french economy, he said. you are not and the best place to relaunch its. after an interruption, he continued. whatever happens, you are always happy. the french people are less happy. president sarkozy fought back, that is a shameless expression. and then francois hollande -- mr. so cozy, it is a lie, it is a lie. when you say -- mr. sarkozy, it is a lie, it is a lie. when you say that i do not live up to my responsibilities, it is a lie. it was easy to form this impression that these two men did not like each other. >> that is the difference between you and me. i protect the c

sarkozy needs to come out of this with momentum for his campaign. bbc news, paris. >> here in america, newt gingrich has officially ended his bid for the republican presidential nomination. he only managed to win two state contests in a campaign that is reported to be $4 million in debt. for more, i turn to the north america editor mark mardell. mark, thank you up for coming in. has newt gingrich endorsed mitt romney then? >> i do not think he has. he did a review of his entire career in great detail, including the 27 books he has written. he talked about religious liberty to energy policy. and very quickly in a couple lines, he also said he was the last to admit he was a conservative, comparing him to the most radical left-wing president the united states had ever had. and that was it. the answer is -- not really. >> does this mean it has lost >> the cycle has been about trying to find a candidate that is not mitt romney. but they had enormous influence. they pushed mitt romney into many conservative positions to probably would not have adopted oth

sarkozy and german chancellor angela merkel had led europe on a cost-cutting europe. hollande wants government sponsored stimulus to revive the growth and wants the very rich to pay a 75% income tax rate. sarkozy, an american-friendly leader, was criticized for his high profile lifestyle. he told his supporters he bears full responsibility for the election loss. hollande was a little known competition who became his party's candidate because the leading candidate, dominick strauss-khan, became embroiled in a sex scandal in new york last year. more to come. france holds parliamentary elections next month and the socialists already hold the upper house. president obama has already called hollande, congratulated him and invited him to the u.s. ahead of an economic summit at camp david next month. >> susan mcginnis in washington, thank you. >>> french voters weren't the only europeans who shook things up in weekend elections. greek's angry with their government's severe austerity measures rebelled against both of the country's dominant political parties. this morning gree

they handed victory to francois hollande over nicolas sarkozy in a runoff election. hollande says he will adopt a different approach. the socialist party leader indicated in a victory speech that he will revise the country's deficit cutting policies. >> translator: the french people have been wounded over the past few years. i will be easing that pain over my five-year term as well as carrying out restructuring. >> sarkozy has cooperated with germany to undertake extensive measures to ease the continent-wide credit crisis. steps have included raising taxes and reducing social security spending, but the economic pain that this has inflicted has led to widespread frustration. unemployment is over 10%. hollande aims to balance the budget by 2017. he says he wants to focus on economic growth, but plans to hire another 60,000 government workers. some economists say such moves will keep the president-elect from meeting his goal. nicolas sarkozy became the 11th eurozone leader to be swept out of office since the crisis began in 2009. his successor is likely to change the dy

whether to back president sarkozy or the socialist candidate. present sarkozy will lead many of these -- will need many of these votes from the far right. in recent days, he has been echoing many things normally associated with these of voters from the far right. despite his frequent attacks on immigration, these voters are on condense. -- not convinced. >> he is having the same attitude that he had five years ago. seeing what a firm marine le pen -- sitting in whatever marine le pen is setting. -- saying. >> in the event, marine le pen refused to endorse either candidate. >> i do not trust either of the candidates. one wants the right to when, the other the left. they have both contributed to failure over the years. sunday, i will cast a blank vote. >> across the city, a huge crowd turned out for president sarkozy. he turned his fire on the unions and the left, saying they stood in the way of change. >> look at what is going not in countries that do not make the necessary changes. look at what is happening in greece, in spain. nobody wants to s

of france as the country decides on who its next leader will be and whether to dump or stick with sarkozy. and russia's republic of dagestan mourns the victims of a deadly twenty bombing which killed thirteen people and injured over one hundred in an attack suspected to have international terrorism links. hello and thanks for being with r t with me karen this saturday it's eight o'clock here in moscow we turn our attention to egypt whose political transition continues to be scarred with intensifying violence less than three weeks before the country's first presidential elections after last year's revolution a curfew has been extended for another night after a friday rally ended up in fierce clashes between protesters and security forces and cairo leaving at least one person dead and scores injured parties correspondent in the region paul sawyer has the details well friday's violence is said to have been triggered when protesters ignored warnings not to approach the defense ministry building they started throwing stones at security forces who responded with tear gas and water cannons and a

just a few more hours for incumbent sarkozy to shake hands with potential voters. sarkozy's last day of electioneering was intricately staged -- royal blue background, triumph of music, and emotional speeches -- triumphant music, and emotional speeches. despite the perfect show, last minute polls indicate sarkozy is still lagging behind his rival, francois hollande. >> the 6.5 million people who voted are not second-class citizens and are not criminals. >> cell sarkozy courted the ultraconservative camp in his final election speeches, highlighting his support for the catholic church, pledging to maintain a hard line against illegal drugs, and rejecting the notion of assisted suicide. earlier in an interview, sarkozy brushed off claims that his chances have some sense leaders of other parties have thrown their support behind hollande -- that his chances have sunk. hollande appeared confident on the final day of campaigning as he joked with audiences. >> i am a hard nut to crack. >> also in a radio interview, he appeared confident of victory. >> i want a comfortable

now on sarkozy side there's a sense of cautious optimism the president's re-election bid has been an uphill battle but the fight is not over for him yet he has appealed to what he has called the silent majority of people who he says would not want to see france go the direction that greece went on criticizing the socialist plan sarkozy said he does not want to see more spending deficits higher debt and risk and indeed the markets have been jittery at the prospect of a no longer victory especially since there is a potential for a franco german deadlock on the fiscal pact that was agreed upon and what sarkozy is hoping for now is to get the voters of the national for the pen as well as a centrist a roof finish fifth in the race now at a time when unemployment is a top priority of french people it's not surprising that foreign policy has taken a back seat however it will be soon enough that the next president will have to deal with these matters so as the french go out and vote and choose the france that they want the rest of the world is watching and waiting to see what kind of france

sarkozy and angela merkel led europe on a cost-cutting europe. hollande the wants stimulus to revive growth and wants the very rich to pay a 75% income tax rate. sarkozy, an american-friendly leader, was criticized for his high profile lifestyle. he tells his supporters he bears all responsibility for the election. hollande was a little noncompetitor because dominick strauss-khan became embroiled in a sex scandal in new york last year. more to come. france holds parliamentary elections next month and the socialist also hold the upper house. president obama has already called hole dande, congratulated him to an economic summit coming up at camp david next month. >>> french voters weren't the only europeans who shook things up in weekend elections. greek's angry with their government's severe austerity measures rebelled against dominant political parties. this morning greece faces political stalemate which could threaten its hard won economic bailout. >>> an american aide worker kidnapped in pakistan has turned up in an apparent al qaeda video plea

time as millions choose between the two candidates in the run of the defending president nicolas sarkozy has already claimed the election isn't a knife's edge as he close to a known rival nicolai of france are london the final polls. visited the headquarters of both candidates. as the french prepare to choose the future of their country word on the street here in paris is that they're likely to get a socialist president the first in seventeen years in the form of now here in front of the socialist party's headquarters there's certainly high hopes for that but of course nothing is certain until the french cast their ballots fully agencies are the closest gauge of the public's polls incumbent nicolas sarkozy is still trailing behind a long by between four and seven points and we lost final pitch he presented himself as a president who will unite the country blaming cycle for having been a divisive president alluding to his anti immigration rhetoric for instance poland also says he will be the want to bring back equality to the country to narrow the gap between the rich and the poor essenti

wrong has two poles in a runoff but which will define whether nicolas sarkozy will with the latest e.u. leaders swept from his post by the crippling debt crisis. of the euro the egyptian presidential campaign is marred by escalating violence as protests against the military rulers turn from being peaceful and end and deadly clashes. nothing is a trade this week russia's north caucasus is wrong by twin towers talks in the republic of dagestan that's thirteen people dead and more than a hundred injured. plus an anti-government rally is expected in moscow a day before the team approach and returns to the ground in at me from a better leagues but take a look at the magazine of the outgoing president. hello and welcome to all see twenty four hour news live from moscow. with the latest news and a review of the week's events first polls have opened in france as millions choose between the two candidates in the runoff the defending president nicolas sarkozy has already claimed the election is on the knives edge as he closed in on while francois hollande in the final polls on his test visited t

brown heads to the polls in a run of words which will define whether nicolas sarkozy will be the latest e.u. leaders swept from his supposed by the crippling debt crisis. presidential campaign is marred by escalating violence as protests against the military released time from being peaceful and ending deadly clashes. plus an anti-government rally is expected in moscow a day before the limit putin returns to the ground in and to make sure we do that if we leave we take a look at the legacy of the outgoing president. this is our weekly review hello and welcome to the program polls are opening in france in two hours time as millions choose between the two candidates in the runoff load the defending president nicolas sarkozy has already claimed the election isn't a knife's edge as he closed a known rival nuclear front so our london the final polls. visited the headquarters of but of candidates. as the french prepare to choose a future of their country word on the street here in paris is that they're likely to get a socialist president the first in seventeen years in the form of now here in

they have had enough of the classical see a stark contrast to the mood at the a cab of it because sarkozy very musical over there and here is certainly celebrating now the question is how much shades are they really going to see they voted for this battle hoping that their problems would it come so out of the oil because all the economic crisis they've been facing will be a soul so that is the question how much change can we really bring about this model throughout the campaign has been the change is now it has been a very very tough a campaign and we saw a record number a large number of fresh people coming out to vote this time only nineteen point nine percent who have studied should read and add to our show how watching the french people watch at this so again you can hear the crowd shouted just want to give you a sense of what they're feeling right now i think that i'm thinking of everything right now but celebrating was and will are for us all are for his part had said that right after he was he's preparing his we find out you want to speak to german chancellor angela merkel this pho