Late results Sunday night showed centrist candidate Emmanuel Macron leading National Front candidate Le Pen by a almost 2-to-1 margin – a landslide the likes of which we have never seen in an American popular vote.
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According to an Ipsos analysis that mixed polling data and actual results, Macron polled 79 percent of the vote among those who say they are “easily coping” with their level of household income, while Le Pen won 69 percent of votes from people who found living on their income “very hard”. Emmanuel Macron’s policy on immigrants will be keenly watched as many in France are anxious about the cultural, economic and religious impact of immigration.
The result suggests that the populist wave may have crested in Europe, for now.
Far-right nationalist Le Pen had called for stricter immigration laws and rejected France’s position in the EU.
“I respect them”, he said. “I know the anger, the anxiety, the doubts that a large part of you have also expressed”.
In a tweet, Trump wrote: “Congratulations to Emmanuel Macron on his big win today as the next President of France”. He will try to balance his views with the worries of millions of French workers.
The Kremlin was widely seen as backing Le Pen, with Putin hosting her during a surprise visit to Moscow in the run-up to the vote. “She is from now on the strongest opposition force against Macron”.
Leaders of the 28-nation European Union, from which Le Pen said she wanted to remove France, were explicitly effusive in their congratulations.
Macron’s victory is not a surprise as polls routinely showed him far ahead of Le Pen.
After taking a long walk towards the stage to Ludwig van Beethoven’s “Ode to Joy”, the anthem of the European Union, Macron spoke of the need for unity.
The removal of the political risk associated with Macron’s rival Marine Le Pen – who had vowed to take France out of the euro – leaves investors refocusing on the pace of monetary policy normalisation in Europe and the United States.
As with the victories for Donald Trump in the USA and Brexit in the United Kingdom, it’s hard to know whether Le Pen’s support-a record high for her party-was driven more by voters’ economic insecurity or support for more traditional values and opposition to immigration.
On the worldwide stage, Macron is expected to take a lead in defending the Paris Agreement, having previously warned that US President Donald Trump would be making a “grave mistake” if he exited the accord.
But Macron said last week if he won, he didn’t expect he would get much of a honeymoon.
Obama said he supported Macron because he appealed to “people’s hopes and not their fears”. But that did not appear to be the case.
Together with the abstention rate, that means that one in three voters declined to choose between the two candidates. A further 8.6 per cent of people who did vote spoiled their ballot or left it blank. The Le Pen momentum had screeched to a halt.
Macron has said he was aiming to secure an absolute majority in the lower chamber through the June 11 and 18 elections.
This gives next month’s two-round legislative election more significance than usual.
In his speech to supporters Sunday, Macron promised to unify the country “with love”.
“The Prime Minister warmly congratulates President-elect Macron on his election success”. The dollar edged up to 112.75 Japanese yen from 112.61 yen.
The former economy minister also wants to renegotiate the Le Touquet border treaty that allows British police and border guards to work on French soil, and keep most unwanted migrants from ever reaching British shores. The Paris prosecutor’s office has opened an investigation into the hacking.
Macron’s party said the hackers had mixed fake documents with authentic ones “to create confusion and misinformation”.
But these last-gasp attempts at destabilization produced a backlash.
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Macron’s party has been targeted by hackers since past year.
