On a gagne

That’s what they’re chanting at Sarkozy headquarters (with one of them funny accents over the “e” in gagne). Unofficial reports indicate a Sarkozy victory in which he garners 53 to 54 percent of the vote.
We’ll have more on what this might mean when the officials results are in.
UPDATE: It’s official. Sarkozy wins with slightly more than 53 percent. Segolene Royal has conceded defeat. Turnout was a massive 85 percent, the highest since 1981 when French voters elected Socialist Francois Mitterand. That was a “turning point” election; let’s hope that this one is too.
SECOND UPDATE: Bloomberg has taken down the version of its report that said voter turnout was higher in the 1981 French presidential election, and I have to question whether it was.