French President-elect Emmanuel Macron (AP/Christophe Ena)
Macron’s resounding victory dashed Le Pen’s hopes that the populist wave which swept Trump into the White House and led Britain to leave the EU would also carry her to France’s presidential Elysee Palace.
French voters elected independent centrist Emmanuel Macron as the country’s youngest president Sunday, delivering a resounding victory to the unabashedly pro-European former investment banker and strengthening France’s place as a central pillar of the European Union.
At a victory party outside the Louvre Museum in Paris, Macron supporters roared with delight at the news, waving red, white and blue tricolor flags. The jubilant crowd swelled to thousands as the night wore on.
Marine Le Pen, his far-right opponent in the presidential runoff, quickly called the 39-year-old Macron to concede defeat after voters rejected her “French-first” nationalism by a large margin. Macron, in a solemn televised victory speech, vowed to heal the social divisions exposed by France’s acrimonious election campaign and bring “hope and renewed confidence” to his country.
“I know the divisions in our nation that led some to extreme votes. I respect them,” he declared, unsmiling. “I know the anger, the anxiety, the doubts that a large number of you also expressed. It is my responsibility to hear them.”
The result wasn’t even close: With two-thirds of votes counted, Macron had 62 percent support, with pollsters projecting a final score of 65 percent when all votes were counted.
Le Pen’s projected 35 percent score dashed her hopes that the populist wave which swept Donald Trump into the White House and led Britain to vote to leave the EU would also carry her to France’s presidential Elysee Palace.
“I congratulate Emmanuel Macron on being elected President of France. I look forward to working with President-elect Macron to confront the common challenges and seize the common opportunities facing our two democracies. One of the greatest threats facing the world today is radical Islamic terror which has struck Paris, Jerusalem and so many other cities around the world. France and Israel are longtime allies and I am sure that we will continue to deepen our relations.”
Macron stressed his opposition to unilateral recognition of a Palestinian state in French television over the weekend, but unequivocally reiterated his support for a two-state solution between Israel and the Palestinian Authority.
By: AP and World Israel News Staff
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