Clear victory of the liberal-progressive leader, Emmanuel Macron, in the French presidential elections: in the runoff he collected about 65% of the votes and clearly beat the candidate of the far-right Front National, Marine Le Pen. He will therefore be the new President of the Republic and will be the youngest tenant of the Elysée because Macron is only 39 years old. He will also be the first President outside the historical parties (the Gaullist and the socialist one) of the Fifth Republic. It is an election that represents a historic turning point. Le Pen immediately admitted defeat and immediately congratulated Macron, who is receiving the appreciation of all European governments, including that of Angela Merkel and Paolo Gentiloni and Matteo Renzi.
Macron's victory is not only great news for France but it is also excellent news for Europe, against which Le Pen proposed the Frexit and for whose relaunch the leader of En Marche has instead openly fought. But Macron's victory is also a sharp stop to populism, which had reared its head with Brexit and with the election of Trump. Macron has shown that populism is fought by challenging it and not by chasing it.
Now Macron hopes to repeat his success in the legislative elections in June, where he aims to gather an autonomous majority despite not having a solid party behind him. The negative figure of the evening is instead the abstention rate of over 25%, a record figure: it had never been so high since 1969.
“I will be everyone's president – Macron said in his first speech after the news of the election, held in front of the Louvre Pyramid in front of thousands of supporters -: the task will be tough but I will tell the French the truth. I will do everything to ensure that there is no longer a need to vote for populisms. What we have done in recent months is unprecedented and has no equal”, he added proudly, addressing those who supported and voted for him, with the notes of the European anthem resounding in the streets. “I know your vote is not a blank check, but I will stick to my commitments. I want to reconcile our people and our country. I will serve you with humility and determination. Long live France, long live the Republic”, concluded the new transalpine president.
