Emmanuel Macron has won five more years as France’s president after a convincing victory over rival Marine Le Pen, who nevertheless secured the far right’s highest share of the vote yet.
He won by 58.55% to 41.45%, a greater margin than expected. The centrist leader told jubilant supporters at the foot of the Eiffel Tower that now the election was over he would be a “president for all”. He is the first sitting president in 20 years to be re-elected.
Despite her loss, Ms Le Pen, 53, said her significant vote share still marked a victory.
The ideas her National Rally represented had reached new heights, she told her supporters. But far-right rival Eric Zemmour pointed out that she had ultimately failed, just like her father who preceded her: “It’s the eighth time the Le Pen name has been hit by defeat.”
Marine Le Pen took over the party founded by her father Jean-Marie Le Pen in 2011 in a bid to make it electable. She won more than 13 million votes on Sunday, on a platform of tax cuts to tackle the high cost of living, a ban on wearing the Muslim headscarf in public and a referendum on immigration controls.
“An answer must be found to the anger and disagreements that led many of our compatriots to vote for the extreme right,” Mr Macron said in his victory speech. “It will be my responsibility and that of those around me.”
Credit: bbc.com
