Macron elected French president again
On 24 April, Emmanuel Macron won the presidential election in France against Marine Le Pen, making him the first French president in 20 years to be elected for a second term (a fixed length of time that a politician serves).
What were the results?
After the first round of the election on 10 April, only Macron and Le Pen were left in the final stage of the voting. Macron won with 58.54% of the votes; Le Pen had the other 41.46%. Although she lost, Le Pen got a record number of votes (13 million) for her party. However, of all the people in France who could have voted, only 72% did, which is the lowest number in a French presidential election since 1969.
Who were the two main candidates?
Macron is the leader of La République En Marche (Republic on the Move). He has been president for five years already, since his victory in the 2017 election. He has been very supportive of the European Union (EU) during his presidency. The EU is a group of 27 countries that work and trade together. Macron has also promised to help with the cost of things like food and petrol, and to increase employment (the number of people with jobs) across France.
Le Pen is the leader of the Rassemblement National (National Rally). The party was founded by her father in the 1970s and it supports strict controls on people moving to live in France from other countries. In the run-up to the election, Le Pen told voters that she would reduce the amount of money France pays into the EU, which could have created tension with other
European leaders.
What was the reaction?
Following his victory, Macron spoke to supporters at the Eiffel Tower in Paris, saying that he wanted to unite the people of France after the election. He said, “I’m not the candidate of one camp any more, but the president of all of us.” Several EU leaders said they were very happy that he had won because it should mean that relations between France and the EU will remain good.
The UK Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, congratulated Macron, saying, “I look forward to continuing to work together on the issues which matter most to our two countries and to the world.” Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelensky, congratulated Macron over the phone and described him as a “true friend of Ukraine” on social media.
What happens next?
Although Macron has won the presidential election, there are still parliamentary elections to come in June. This is when the public votes for deputies. These deputies are politicians who represent different areas of France and sit in the National Assembly, which is part of the French parliament. They are similar to Members of Parliament (MPs) in the UK. There are a total of 577 deputies and the president needs the support of the National Assembly to pass laws (make them official). Macron needs deputies who will support him in the National Assembly – otherwise he could find it hard to pass laws and achieve his goals.