French President Emmanuel Macron has been re-elected, defeating far-right candidate Marine Le Pen.
ADVERTISEMENTFrench President Emmanuel Macron was re-elected on Sunday with 58.6% of the vote share compared to 41.4% for far-right candidate Marine Le Pen.
The two candidates had presented fundamentally different visions of France and Macron acknowledged in a victory speech that many voters supported him only to counter the far-right. He called on the divided population to be "benevolent and respectful" and promised a "new era".
Abstention was estimated by pollster Ipsos to be at around 28% nationally, which would be the highest since 1969, with many voters rejecting a repeat of the 2017 election.
Here's a look at how election night unfolded.
Key updates:
- French President Emmanuel Macron is re-elected with 58.55% of the votes, defeating far-right challenger Marine Le Pen, with 41.45%.
- Le Pen called her vote share -- an increase from 2017 -- a "resounding victory" and vowed to fight during the legislative elections in June.
Macron acknowledged that many people voted for him to counter Le Pen, commending their "sense of duty" and "attachment to the Republic."
- "We can count on France for five more years," said EU Council President Charles Michel in a tweet, as other European politicians said Macron's victory was a "relief".
- Macron will face several challenges ahead despite his victory on Sunday as he inherits a deeply divided country.
- Here are five main takeaways from France's election night.
Official results in French election
Emmanuel Macron received 58.55% of the vote share with 18,779,812 votes.
Marine Le Pen received 41.45% of the vote share with 13 297 729 votes.
Here are the latest results based on 99% of votes counted
- Emmanuel Macron -- 58.3%
- Marine Le Pen -- 41.66%
Here are the latest results based on 95% of votes counted
- Emmanuel Macron -- 57.13%
- Marine Le Pen -- 42.87%
'Macron will have to take the mantle of European diplomatic leadership again,' says analyst
Emmanuel Macron "will have to take the mantle of European diplomatic leadership again," said Tara Varma, head of the European Council on Foreign Relations' Paris office.
"Macron’s victory means the pursuit of an ambitious project for Europe. He will be advocating to double down on the European sovereignty agenda: on tech, on defence, on fighting economic coercion," she said.
"He also needs to ensure the ongoing French EU presidency is a success."
Macron says he will be the 'president of all' in victory speech
Macron promised to be a "president for all" after securing victory in France's election runoff.
He added that the years to come wouldn't be calm but they would be "historic".
"Today you have chosen a humanist project, ambitious for the independence of our country, for our Europe, a republican project in its values, a social and ecological project," Macron said.
Read more about Macron's victory speech here.