New Delhi: French President Emmanuel Macron defeated his far-right rival Marine Le Pen on Sunday by a comfortable margin, early projections showed. Votes are being tallied and the first results are expected soon in France’s presidential election runoff, reported AFP News Agency.
Projections show Emmanuel Macron winning the re-election with between 57.6% and 58.2% of the vote, defeating far-right leader Marine Le Pen. Votes are being tallied and the first results are expected soon in France’s presidential election runoff.
Meanwhile, Marine Le Pen in a concession speech said she “will never abandon” the French and called for voters to choose her party in June legislative elections.
Among the first reactions to Emmanuel Macron’s imminent victory, Charles Michel, president of the European Council, has said that EU ‘can count on France for five more years’ after Macron projected to win the presidential elections.
The outcome, expected to be confirmed by official results overnight, will cause immense relief in Europe after fears a Le Pen presidency would leave the continent rudderless following Brexit and the departure of German chancellor Angela Merkel.
Macron will be the first French president to win re-election since Jacques Chirac in 2002 after his predecessors Nicolas Sarkozy and Francois Hollande left office after only one term.
Macron was elected President of France on 7 May 2017 with 66.1% of the vote in the second round, defeating Marine Le Pen. At the age of 39, Macron became the youngest president in the French history. The first round of France’s 2022 presidential election was held on 10 April.
44-year-old Macron is expected to make a victory speech on the Champ de Mars in central Paris at the foot of the Eiffel Tower.
(With agency inputs)
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