DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: But first, we take a look back in our "CNN 20" segment: France elects a new president.</s>REYNELDA MUSE, CNN ANCHOR: It was election day in France today, with a victory for Socialist candidate Francois Mitterrand, which ended 23 years of conservative government in France. Trevor McDonald has this wrap-up report.</s>TREVOR MCDONALD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It was not the Parisian spring morning the voters may have hoped for, but despite the early rain, people were turning out to vote in far greater numbers than in the first round, and in percentages far exceeding those in 1974. These considerations are now vital. What had begun as a boring election campaign ended as a presidential campaign too desperately close to call. And the fate of the two candidates could now well be decided by the 19 percent of the electorate who abstained in the first round on April 26. The outgoing president, Giscard d'Estaing Gestau voted in Chennevieres (ph) this morning. His performance in the first round was disappointing. The Socialist candidate, Francois Mitterrand, voted in Chateau-Chinon in Southwest France. The last metered opinion survey said Mitterrand will become president in his third attempt. This is how French viewers were first told of Francois Mitterrand's victory.
CNN 20: Francois Mitterrand Elected, May 10, 1981