Hollande congratulates Tsipras on Greek election victory

Alexis Tsipras waves to supporters after winning the elections in Athens, 25 January 2015. Reuters/Marko Djurica

French President Francois Hollande congratulated Alexis Tsipras on Monday on his radical left party Syriza's win and recalled "the friendship that unites France and Greece".

Hollande also "expressed his desire to Mr Tsipras to continue the close cooperation between our two countries, to support the growth and stability of the eurozone" in a statement. 

Tsipras is the first European leader to reject the conservative policies of strict budgetary  rigour imposed by the European Union and its members. 

Tsipras has promised to keep Greece in the euro but has also promised Greek voters to renegotiate the country's 240-billion-euro bailout with the troika ( EU , European Central Bank and IMF), to raise the minimum wage and increase pensions for the poorest. 

The raft of anti-austerity pledges is causing consternation in Berlin as it might encourage other anti-austerity forces in Europe such as Podemos in Spain.