BBC News with Jim Lee

The leader of the centre-right New Democracy party in Greece, Antonis Samaras, has claimed victory in the country's second general election in six weeks. Mr Samaras said Greeks have expressed their will to remain in the eurozone and honour the country's commitments.

"This is a victory for all Europe. I call upon all political parties that share those objectives to join forces and form a stable new government. I will make sure that the sacrifices of the Greek people will bring the country back to prosperity."

The leader of the left wing Syriza party, Alexis Tsipras, said it would not join a coalition as it remained opposed to the

austerity

measures tied to a huge European bailout.

"As an opposition party, we will try to fight and use our positions for the benefits of the Greek people. We must all know that the austerity measures cannot go ahead because they lack the necessary legal basis."

The Socialist Party of the new French President Francois Hollande has won an absolute majority in parliament. The second and final round of elections on Sunday gave them far more than the 289 seats needed to control the national assembly. The Socialist Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault said the goal now was to shift Europe towards growth. From Paris, here's Christian Fraser.

On a night of high drama in Europe, the French president, seen as the new champion of growth, was handed a