France has elected Francois Hollande as its first Socialist president in nearly two decades, marking a shift to the left at the heart of Europe.

Hollande unseated Conservative Nicolas Sarkozy in a heated election on Sunday, making the incumbent France’s first one-term president since Valery Giscard d’Estaing lost to Socialist Francois Mitterrand in 1981.

The 57-year-old gave a rousing victory speech in Tulle, focusing on uniting France on several issues, after taking 51.62 per cent of the vote.

“To those who haven’t voted for me – let them know that I hear them, and that I will be president to all. There is one France, united in the same destiny,” said Hollande, who vowed to be dedicated to the causes of justice and youth.

Hollande, for whom financial policy in the wake of a European debt crisis was a major campaign issue, also said that he intended to implement promises of a more “pro-growth” policy.

“Europe is watching us, austerity can no longer be the only option,” he said.

Al Jazeera’s Andrew Simmons, reporting from Tulle, said that there were high expectations of a man who “has never even held a junior ministerial post”.

“He’s certainly proved popular despite a background that really is pretty boring, politically,” said Simmons

Joyful crowds gathered in Hollande’s adopted home town of Tulle and in front of the Socialist party headquarters in Paris, as news of the result spread.

Al Jazeera’s Jacky Rowland, reporting from Paris, said: “A very clear, very decisive margin there, and already, we’re seeing the scenes – cars hooting as they drive down the Champs-Élysées … and crucially, the Place de la Bastille, the traditional celebration ground of the socialist movement.”

Sarkozy, meanwhile, has suggested that he would step back from frontline politics after his failed re-election bid, but stopped short of confirming his retirement.

“In this new era, I will remain one of you, but my place will no longer be the same,” he told supporters.

“My engagement with the life of my country will now be different, but time will never strain the bonds between us.”

Earlier, Sarkozy urged his party to remain united. “Stay together. We must win the battle of the legislatives,” he said.

France’s parliamentary elections are due in June.

Long challenge

Hollande, who led in the polls throughout the campaign, won the April 22 first round with 28.6 per cent to 27.2 per cent for Sarkozy – making the right-winger the first incumbent to have lost so far in the first round.

Grey skies and rain showers greeted voters across much of France on Sunday, but turnout was high, at 80.3 per cent of the 46 million eligible to vote, according to interior ministry figures.

Sarkozy had vowed a surprise, while Hollande cautioned against assuming he will be France’s first Socialist president since Mitterrand left office in 1995.