海角大神

For the next five years, France鈥檚 president-elect Fran莽ois Hollande of the Socialist Party will go by 鈥淢onsieur le Pr茅sident.鈥澛燘ut in this central France town of about 16,000, where he has been in politics for about 30 years, he will always be known as 鈥淔ran莽ois.鈥� Residents here know him by his first name 鈥� and he knows theirs.聽

Mr. Hollande toured polling stations in Tulle and other nearby villages on election day. As was his habit when he was a local elected leader here, Hollande visited Tulle鈥檚 two markets on May 5, the day before the election, asking shoppers and local food producers how they were doing, shaking men鈥檚 hands, and kissing ladies on the cheeks amid a crowd of reporters.

The atmosphere was lighthearted and optimistic, with Hollande ahead of Nicolas Sarkozy in the polls, but some residents worried that it might well be the last time they saw "Fran莽ois"聽at the markets.聽As president, he would have very little time, if any, to come visit them.聽

Although not from the area originally, Hollande has been a political fixture there for decades. He served as a representative in the lower chamber of聽 parliament聽for Corr猫ze, the rural area where Tulle sits, from 1988 to 1993 and again from 1997 until now. He was president of Corr猫ze鈥檚 general council 鈥� a position equivalent to county manager 鈥� from 2008 until now and served as mayor of Tulle from 2001 to 2008.聽

While Hollande walked the open-air market by the town鈥檚 cathedral on the unexpectedly sunny day, one petite and elegant older lady waited for him near the market entrance.聽Wearing a red dress and a white wool cardigan with gold buttons, the older lady had been standing there for over an hour, repeatedly asking reporters whether they knew what time 鈥淔ran莽ois鈥� would come.

When Hollande finally got close to her after posing for photographs with supporters, she tried to catch his attention as he spoke to someone else.聽鈥淲ill you invite me to the Elys茅e?鈥� she called out, referring to France鈥檚 presidential palace.聽Hollande didn鈥檛 hear her over the cheering supporters and journalists shouting questions.聽

Walking along the market stands soon after, Hollande told reporters that just because he was likely to become president didn鈥檛 mean he would forget those who live here, and that even if he was less available, Tulle residents should be reassured that one of their own would be leading the country.

鈥淭ulle residents won鈥檛 miss me,鈥� Hollande said. 鈥淚f I lose, they will see me and if I win they will see me even more.鈥澛�

On election night, about an hour after the announcement of his win, Hollande gave his first presidential address here, right by the cathedral, only a few feet away from the open-air market. Just before he concluded his speech, he thanked his first constituents.

鈥淔inally, I greet my department of Corr猫ze,鈥� he said, to which the crowd responded with nearly 30 seconds of chants and applause. 鈥淚 owe you everything.鈥�

Hollande was elected president with 51.63 percent of the votes nationally, according to results published by France鈥檚 Interior Ministry. He scored 65 percent of the vote in Corr猫ze and 76 percent in Tulle.