I am proud to have been capable of giving people hope again.

Nothing was given to me, nothing was entrusted to me, nothing was assigned to me. Everything I have, I took by right.

In an election, one needs both hope and audacity.

I think that France has not made it clear enough recently to our German friends how important it is to introduce euro bonds as a tool against speculation. And how the necessary budget discipline needs to be accompanied by growth.

Before you, I engage myself to serve my country with the devotion and the exemplary that this post demands. I understand responsibilities of the job and, as such, I give a republican salute to Nicolas Sarkozy who has led France for 5 years and who deserves all of our respect.

That is now my mission: to provide a European vision of growth, employment, prosperity - in one word, our future.

To be influential in tomorrow's world, to defend our values and our development model, France needs Europe and Europe needs France.