Supporters of the right will be nursing a sore head after a night of celebration, whilst those on the left may have spent the evening drowning their sorrows.
But in Sarkozy's words with France ready "to turn a new page" in its history and Ségolène Royal believing that "something has risen up that will not stop" there is hope that new thoughts and ideas will bring change.
Many people have written that Sarkozy has to bring in Thatcherite policies to get France back up and running, but things are very different to those days almost 30 years ago.
France enjoys an expansive transport system, world-leading health care and regularly comes out top when quality of life is compared across countries, very different to the power cuts, long running strikes and uncollected rubbish piles of the Winter of Discontent.
Sarkozy has spoken of getting people back to work and allowing them to keep more of the money they earn, despite critics saying this will only be achieved by cutting the rights of workers and creating low paid, so-called "McJobs".
An area you have got to hope he tackles is the difficulty of setting up and running a new business, which under the current system places a ball and chain around the ankle before people even have the chance to establish themselves.
The requirement to pay social charges during the early days of starting a business is prohibitive, alongside the cost of employing new staff as an enterprise gains traction and success, which leads to stagnation and ultimately forces a business to the wall.
It has to be easier to create employment so that the balance of power shifts to the worker, enabling them to change jobs if they want but at the same time making employers realise that keeping their current staff and training new workers for the long term is more effective than employing new people every couple of months or not at all.
With around 53 per cent of the vote Sarkozy still has much to do to get the whole country behind him, clashes between the police and youths last night are testament to that, but a measure of the nation's backing may come in the National Assembly elections next month, but if he fails and we end up seeing long running protests and trouble on the streets, reform is likely to be put back to the detriment of everyone.
Much will depend on the man himself and what he has learnt from the campaign trail over the past few months.
You have to hope that the aggressive energy he showed in the banlieue during the riots of 2005 is expressed in a different way over the coming months, and instead we see him use this undoubted drive for constructive purposes not only to deal with the yobs and trouble makers, but to give the majority hope and belief that their endeavour will be rewarded.
He also faces the challenge of ensuring the commitment the French public showed at the ballot box with record turn outs is not slapped back in their face, with charges of cronyism, media influence and a distant political elite having been levelled at politicians during the Chirac era.
In the past as interior minister Sarkozy would often visit towns and cities as a fire-fighter only dealing with problems, but during the presidential campaign he will have seen France from a different perspective.
People will have been looking to him as someone who can bring change and lead a country not just a political party, the hope is that he recognises the responsibility that involves.
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Final results from towns and villages
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