Conservative Nicolas Sarkozy was elected Sunday to a five-year term as France's president with 53 percent of the vote, projections for France's state-run network France 2 said.

Socialist Segolene Royal, a 53-year-old mother of four, conceded defeat in a speech to supporters moments after the polls closed at 8 p.m. (1800 GMT).

Turnout was approximately 85%, insanely high compared to US standards and higher than previous French elections. Sarkozy will succeed Jacques Chirac. More coverage of the election here . Some interesting thoughts from the British left on working with Sarkozy here :

on pure foreign policy and EU issues the vision of a Brown-Sarkozy tandem - or on a tricycle made for three with Angela Merkel - offers the prospect of Europe shaping a new foreign policy that is coherent and effective after the disastrous divisions and personal rancour of recent years.

Blog reactions below the fold.
Reaction from the left here :

Those of us who love France respect the wish of its people to change towards what some call "Anglo-Saxon" economics. We share some of the concern of our French friends that this should not mean a reduction in the quality of French social policies - a model for all countries. Above all. what we don’t want to see is a change to French life and style – by far one of the most precious aspects of our European culture.

Reaction from the right here :

Of course, part of the reason Sarkozy won -- assuming he did -- is because of the continuous violence occurring in the Muslim ghettoes. Cars burn on most nights, and it no longer makes headlines unless the count gets above 200 or so. The obvious cultural disconnect, along with the moribund French economy under Socialist policies, has created a shift in mood for the French. Sarkozy campaigned on the need to ditch the 32-hour work week and to make the business climate more friendly to investment and entrepeneurs, and he has apparently struck a chord with fed-up French voters.

The move to adopt longer hours, less vacation, and all the trappings of US-style capitalism (clashing against the desire to retain traditional family and leisure oriented policies) has both pros and cons . It will be interesting to see whether Sarkozy now turns towards trying to mend fences with the left or whether he views his large margin of victory as a sign to push further right. It's hard to say what this means for liberals and conservatives in the US; the labels don't translate well to Europe, and France's problems mostly are not shared by the US (we have our own unique issues with which we struggle). In contrast to France, and for all the talk here of a culture clash, Muslim communities in the US tend to be integrated into mainstream society (perhaps related to our relatively low unemployment rates). Overall, I think it's fair to say Europe is moving slightly right, although the low percentage garnered by far-right candidate Le Pen indicates that there is still minimal interest in extreme policies. With Blair due to resign as head of Labour and Bush's term entering lame-duck territory, the US/Europe political landscape is rapidly shifting.