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Events on Sunday 10 May 1981 1
1981François Mitterrand elected President of FranceFirst Socialist to win the French presidency under the Fifth RepublicFrançois Mitterrand defeated incumbent Valéry Giscard d'Estaing in the French presidential runoff on 10 May 1981. He was the first Socialist elected president under the Fifth Republic and went on to serve fourteen years in office. His government nationalized major banks and industries soon after taking power.