Posters of Francois Hollande and Nicholas Sarkozy following the presidential elections. François Gérard Georges Nicolas Hollande is the 24th President of France. He previously served as the First Secretary of the French Socialist Party from 1997 to 2008 and as a Deputy of the National Assembly of France for Corrèze's 1st Constituency from 1988 to 1993 and then again from 1997 to 2012. Sarkozy was the outgoing president.