Macron collects almost double votes of Le Pen

Centrist wins strong mandate, but low turnout underlines scale of task ahead

French President-elect Emmanuel Macron swept to power with almost double the number of votes of his defeated far-right rival Marine Le Pen, according to the final votes tally.

The 39-year-old former banker received 20.8 million votes – 66.1% of those cast – compared with 10.6 million, or 33.9%, for Ms Le Pen, according to figures released by the Interior Ministry.

It is the second-highest presidential vote in recent history, following Jacques Chirac’s 2002 victory when he collected 82.2% of the total with 25.5 million votes.

However, the turnout of just 74.6% was the lowest for a presidential run-off in 48 years, indicating many voters were unwilling to back either candidate, with the 12.1 million no-voters outstripping Ms Le Pen’s support.

In a further sign of the disillusion among the electorate, a record four million cast blank or spoiled ballot papers.

The figures underlined the scale of the task facing the centrist Mr Macron as he seeks to unite a nation riven by concerns over unemployment, terrorism, immigration and France’s relationship with the EU.

The president-elect appeared alongside the man he succeeds, outgoing President Francois Hollande, at a ceremony in Paris to commemorate the end of the Second World War.

It was the first time the two men have been seen in public together since Mr Macron quit last year as economy minister in Mr Hollande’s socialist government to run for office.

At the event on the Champs-Elysees, Mr Hollande approached Mr Macron and gripped him by the shoulder before the two men walked beneath the Arc de Triomphe.

Elsewhere in the capital, there were protests by trade unions opposed to his proposed pro-business reform agenda, who reviled him as a traitor.

One of the key tasks facing Mr Macron is to prepare for National Assembly elections next month, which will determine whether his fledgling En Marche movement can gain a majority ensuring he has a free hand to pick his own government.

If he fails, he could face pressure to appoint a prime minister from another political party, making it more difficult to drive through his political programme.

Theresa May, who telephoned the strongly pro-EU Mr Macron on Sunday to congratulate him on his win, said his victory underscored the need to secure an equally convincing result in the UK general election ahead of the Brexit talks.

“Yesterday, a new French President was elected. He was elected with a strong mandate which he can take with him as a strong position in the negotiations,” she said during a campaign visit in north-west London.”

The City of London, meanwhile, was braced for an early drive by the president-elect to lure back the thousands of French nationals working in the British financial sector.

“He’ll make a play for French bankers to come home, so they may find it a bit more attractive, certainly more attractive than if (Marine) Le Pen was in charge,” Alex Howard-Keyes, an investment banking partner at executive search firm Alderbrooke said.

Picture: Getty Images. Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte Trogneux hold hands as they celebrate his victory outside the Louvre.

Pictures: AP/Getty Images. Top: Marine Le Pen who lost out to Emmanual Macron, and, above, protesters on the streets of Paris yesterday.