Photo of the Week – May 11, 2012

The second round of the 2012 French Presidential Election took place last Sunday, May 6th. François Hollande, of the Socialist party, won the election with 51.63% of the vote to Sarkozy’s 48.37%. Posters of the two candidates covered the city in the weeks leading up to the runoff. I photographed these posters the morning of the the election outside a school in the 14th arrondissement that was open as a polling place. Hollande gave a victory speech that evening in Tulle, France, where he served as mayor from 2001 – 2008. It was followed by an appearance several hours later at the historic Place de la Bastille in Paris. © Rachael Woodson