French and Greek elections 'have overthrown Angela Merkel as dominant force' The only certainty is that he will raise taxes and wants to hire more teachers. He can impress his followers, but not the financial markets on which his country because of its double deficit - budget and trade - depends," he concludes. Writing about their French neighbours, Sueddeutsche Zeitung says: "Goodbye election campaign, bonjour reality." In an editorial, the paper is scathing about the hangover that faces French voters as they wake up to a new Socialist president. When the last champagne cork on the Place de la Bastille is swept up and the French awaken from the night of victory and defeat, then they have to say: 'Goodbye campaign, bonjour reality. And it is a bitter reality: Their social model has run out of money, they cannot compete against the others - the Chinese, Indians, Brazilians. The 'exception française', France's special position in the world has come to an end. Now France must face the truth. This is especially true for Francois Hollande. Die Welt sees the French and Greek vote as interlinked, spelling "the rejection of Merkel's system in Europe." In an editorial, the newspaper notes that both elections are a revolt against an EU and eurozone order dominated by the German chancellor. "Both Hollande and the Greek opposition are serving people's desire for a fundamental change in political and social conditions, which are mainly attributed to the most powerful woman in Europe: Chancellor Angela Merkel," it concluded. They were voting against a tight rein on states by a central authority in Brussels, against the loss of democracy through 'expert government'. These elections were a clear rejection of the Angela Merkel's system in Europe. In France, Le Figaro defends the record of Nicolas Sarkozy, saying: "History will judge his term in office and will remark that having taken on the worst economic and financial crisis of the past 50 years, he nevertheless enacted essential reforms regarding university, research, pensions, public deficit reduction ... He also proudly maintained France's place on the international stage and played a decisive role in saving Europe and the euro. There is not a minute to lose to reaffirm France's commitment to respect the European stability pact to bring the deficit to three per cent in 2013 and to equilibrium in 2017. Francois Hollande rightly wants growth to be a priority ... Many of our European partners share that desire, including Ms Merkel. But you first have to agree on the modalities of that growth and accept necessary structural reforms. You have to avoid massive recourse to taxation instead of making savings. Le Parisien writes: "For the Left, as for the Right, a new era beckons. For the Left, it's a return to business. For the Right, it's splits and score-settling. France's political landscape is about to be redrawn. Libération headlines: "Normal!," referring to Francois Hollande's nickname. In its editorial entitled "At last," Nicolas Demorand writes: "Francois Mitterrand was not an anomaly of history but the first French president of the Left." In a damaged France, that could have made the choice of barricading itself behind fantasy borders and ruminating about the past, Francois Hollande's victory demonstrates that the country preferred hope. The work had only just begun and it will be tough starting from tomorrow. But for today, be happy and make the most of this great month of May. In Greece, conservative Eleftheros Typos, Mr Hollande's election is a "declaration of war against Angela Merkel." But the paper says it remains to be seen "whether the new French president will keep his promises on renegotiating the European stability pact or whether he will soften his stance under pressure from the markets and European institutions." Greek newspapers today described Mr Hollande's victory as an "overthrow of European politics." Naftemboriki, the economic daily, writes: "The European political situation is changing after Francois Hollande's presidential election in the eurozone's second economy." Mr Hollande, it writes, has "received a strong mandate enabling him to question the austerity recipes favoured by Chancellor Angela Merkel," calling the election the "overthrow of European politics." Pro-government daily Ta Nea writes that Mr Hollande "pledges growth to the peoples of southern Europe." "A page is turning in France and with it, the whole of Europe" with a "shift in favour of growth" and a "message against austerity." El Mundo. Spain's Right-wing daily delivers the news with front page headline "Hollande's victory opens uncertainty in Europe." Next to a photograph of a smiling Mr Hollande waving from a podium, the newspaper chose to highlight the socialist candidate's pledge not to sacrifice the welfare state. "Austerity can no longer be inevitable!" it quotes from his victory speech. An editorial with the headline: "The complicated cohabitation of Merkel-Hollande" discusses the fracture of the central right alliance at the heart of Europe and what repercussions that may bring. Noting the Greek election results also on its front page El Mundo wrote: "The rise of extremists further complicates Greece" and says to the horror of Brussels the Greeks have voted with their stomachs and delivered a kick to austerity measures. Spain's left leaning El Pais offers a more positive take on the result. "Hollande drives a new Europe" is the headline above "The Socialist victory in France's presidential starts a new cycle for the left and opens the door to a different discourse on EU growth." The paper champions the victory as "the rebirth of Europe's left." The newspaper also notes with dismay that neo-Nazis and radical Left will be key in Greece's new parliament. The Jerusalem Post speaks to the head of the Jewish community in Athens, who talks of his fears that two far-Right political parties could enter the Greek parliament. Benjamin Albalas said his chief concern was over Golden Dawn, a party he described as neo-Nazi, adding that if it made it to parliament it would constitute an insult to Jewish people and to Greece as a whole. Nicolas Sarkozy's failed re-election bid was followed closely in the Arab world - traditionally close to France and more importantly profoundly altered by the ex-President's policies on the Arab spring in the last year. Syrian state media was not surprisingly overjoyed to see the fall of a principal western opponent. Alain Juppe, Mr Sarkozy's foreign minister, has been among the most aggressive politicians calling for western action in support of the rebels. "The Sarkozy-Juppe duo in the dustbin of history," read the front-page headline of Al-Watan, or The Nation. "These two worked for 15 months to find a way, through the UN Security Council, to destroy Syria using false pretexts," its commentary added. However for many of Syria's citizens, Mr Sarkozy's policies were less important than the irony of his defeat being welcomed by a regime that does not countenance any such possibility of exit for itself. "Imagine that, and dream of having it one day - a handover of power," tweeted Rime Allaf, a London-based Syrian analyst. I live for the day we will see an Arab world president gracefully concede defeat to his successor & wish him luck! And to see an Arab president who says: je porte toute la responsabilité de cette défaite. I bear all the responsibility for this defeat. Even in countries marginally more democratic, there was a sarcastic response to the idea that elections might actually change something. In Algeria, where parliamentary elections this week are not expected to have much effect on the grip on power of President Abdelaziz Bouteflika and have been met with apathy, a cartoon showed two men standing under a local election poster. "Who do you support - Sarko or Hollande?" one says to the other.