Macron vows to serve all of France after seeing off the far right
▶ But re-elected president must prepare for another battle in June
French President Emmanuel Macron has pledged to be a leader for all of France after beating nationalist Marine Le Pen, but he faces an uphill task to reunite the country.
As congratulations poured in from world leaders after Sunday night’s election win, Mr Macron’s opponents wasted no time in gearing up for the centrist president’s next test at the ballot box.
His opponents urged voters to deny him a majority in the parliamentary elections on June 12 and June 19.
If Mr Macron fails to score another victory, the pro-European president will struggle to advance his pro-business agenda, including unpopular proposals to raise the retirement age.
Mr Macron’s win against far-right candidate Ms Le Pen averted what would have been a political earthquake.
He became the first incumbent in 20 years to win a second term since Jacques Chirac beat Ms Le Pen’s father Jean-Marie in 2002.
There were cheers as the poll results appeared on a giant screen at the Champ de Mars at the foot of the Eiffel Tower, where supporters of Mr Macron waved French and EU flags.
He won with 58.5 per cent of the vote to Ms Le Pen’s 41.5 per cent – far closer than when they faced off in 2017.
Jordan Bardella, a close ally of Ms Le Pen, insisted the battle was far from over despite the National Rally party losing the presidential election.
“Voting isn’t over, the legislative elections are the third round,” he told voters. “Don’t put all the power in Emmanuel Macron’s hands.”
The hard left’s Jean-Luc Melenchon, who came third, slightly behind Ms Le Pen, in the first round of the election on April 10, said Mr Macron had been elected “by default”.
“Don’t give up,” he told supporters. “You can beat Macron [in the parliamentary election] and choose a different path.”
After his victory, the president praised those who gave him five more years to lead the country with Europe’s second-largest economy.
He thanked people who voted for him not because they embraced his ideas but because they rejected his chief rival.
The president vowed to reunite France’s divided society. “From now on, I am not the candidate of one camp, but everybody’s president,” he said.
“Many of our fellow citizens voted for me not because of the ideas I represent, but to block those of the extreme right.”
About 16 million eligible voters, 28 per cent of the electorate, abstained on Sunday, while two million others submitted blank votes.
A gathering of Ms Le Pen’s supporters erupted in boos and whistles at a reception in Paris.
She admitted defeat but promised to keep up the fight, with the June parliamentary elections in mind. “I will never abandon the French,” she told supporters, who chanted “Marine, Marine.”
French daily newspaper Le Monde called the incumbent’s win “an evening of victory without a triumph”, while left-leaning Liberation called it “a victory without the glory”.
Conservative daily Le Figaro said after all the challenges of his first term, Mr Macron’s win was “no mean feat”, but asked: “Who can possibly believe that it is rooted in popular support?”
Hundreds of people took part in protests in cities across France after the results were announced.
Riot police fired tear gas to disperse crowds in the Place de La Republique in Paris, while there were demonstrations in Marseille, Lyon and Rennes.
Two people were shot dead and a third was injured when police opened fire on a vehicle in central Paris on Sunday evening after the driver tried to run officers over, local media reported.
Among the challenges ahead for Mr Macron will be his efforts to press on with pro-business reforms.
“There will be continuity in government policy because the president has been re-elected. But we have also heard the French people’s message,” said Health Minister Olivier Veran. Among the world leaders to congratulate Mr Macron was Russian President Vladimir Putin, amid disagreements between the leaders over the war in Ukraine.
“I sincerely wish you success in your state activities, as well as good health and wellbeing,” Mr Putin said in a telegram to Mr Macron, according to the Kremlin.
Opposition parties on the left and right will start a push to try to vote in a parliament and government opposed to Mr Macron in June’s parliamentary elections.
Philippe Lagrue, 63, technical director at a theatre in Paris, said he had voted for Mr Macron after opting for the leftist Jean-Luc Melenchon in the first round.
Mr Lagrue said he would vote for Mr Melenchon again in June. “Melenchon Prime Minister. That would be fun,” he said. “Macron would be upset, but that’s the point.”
If he fails to win in June’s parliamentary elections, the president will struggle to advance his pro-business agenda