FRENCH voters have rejected the far-right presidential candidate Marine Le Pen and delivered a resounding victory to Emmanuel Macron.
At the time of writing, the centrist first-time politician looks set to take an astounding 65.1 per cent of the vote, compared to Le Pen’s 34.5 per cent.
It was a result felt around the world, with French voters bucking the trend set by the UK and the US and overwhelmingly rejecting the politics of anti-immigrant populism.
A victory for Len Pen would almost certainly have led to France leaving the EU and the euro, and likely have proved devastating for the fate of the bloc.
Though roundly defeated, Le Pen, who initially stood as a candidate for the Front National, the nationalist party founded by her father, still managed the highest vote for the far-right in recent French history.
Le Pen’s 10 million votes doubled the result achieved by her father Jean Marie Le Pen, when he made it to the second round of the French presidential election in 2002.
At 39, Macron is the youngest ever President of France. The former economy minister started the En Marche! movement just a year ago, and this is the first time he has held elected office.
It has been an unusual race, with mainstream parties rejected by voters in the first round for the first time since the Second World War.
As much as the “helpers” who worked on the Macron campaign will say this was a vote for his free market, pro-business, pro-Europe platform, supporters of the other mainstream parties will have flocked to En Marche! to stop Le Pen.
Though his mandate is unquestionable, it could be a lonely landslide.
It seems unlikely the fledgling En Marche! will be able to win a parliamentary majority in elections next month. Without that majority, Macron will not be able to carry out many of the promises in his manifesto.
He comes into a power at a pivotal time in France’s history. The county is under a state of emergency, still recovering from major terrorist attacks in recent years that have left more than 230 dead. There is mass unemployment and a stagnant economy.
Outgoing president Francois Hollande has an approval rating of just four per cent.
Macron, an investment banker by trade, will have power over national security, foreign policy and the ability to choose the prime minister.
In the final hours of the campaign he was targeted by hackers with links to the Kremlin, with Wikileaks publishing vast reams of data. However, it seemed there was little scandal to be found.
Macron’s personal life is probably of more interest to many. He met his wife, Brigitte Trogneux, when he was 16 and she was his 40-year-old drama teacher, and married with three children. They subsequently became a couple, and married in 2007.
Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon tweeted: “Vive La France. Congratulations to new President, Emmanuel Macron on his decisive victory over the hard right. #frenchelection”
Downing Street sent warm congratulations and said Britain looked forward to working with the new president.
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