Emmanuel Macron will be the next president of France after a decisive win over his far-right opponent Marine Le Pen, winning 66.06 per cent of the vote to his rival's 33.94 per cent.
Europe has "breathed a sigh of relief" over the election of the centrist pro-European, says Reuters, as politicians and financial markets set aside fears of an anti-EU Le Pen victory.
At 39, Macron will be the youngest person ever to hold the presidency and the first in decades not to come from either of the country's major parties.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Addressing supporters last night, he said: "A new chapter in our long history has opened this evening. I would like it to be one of hope and of renewed confidence."
Conceding defeat, Le Pen vowed to lead her Front National party to the upcoming legislative election, but warned it would be undergoing a "profound transformation".
"It is not immediately clear what she means by this," says The Guardian, "but commentators are suggesting she aims to disband the party and build a new movement, aiming to organise a major political reorganisation around the divide between patriots and globalists".
Despite her defeat, Le Pen's share of the vote was "a record performance" for the Front National and "underlined the scale of the divisions that Macron must now try to heal", Reuters says.
"More than four million people who voted on Sunday posted a blank ballot paper, a record for a presidential election," says Le Monde. Turnout was 74 per cent, the lowest since 1969.
Macron's next challenge is to secure a solid base in next month's legislative elections, which may prove difficult, says Mathieu Gallard of pollsters Ipsos.
Nearly half of Macron's voters wanted only to block a Le Pen victory, Gallard adds, while only 39 per cent say they will be comfortable with hgim securing an absolute majority in the new parliament.
-
Film reviews: ‘Send Help’ and ‘Private Life’Feature An office doormat is stranded alone with her awful boss and a frazzled therapist turns amateur murder investigator
-
Movies to watch in Februarythe week recommends Time travelers, multiverse hoppers and an Iraqi parable highlight this month’s offerings during the depths of winter
-
ICE’s facial scanning is the tip of the surveillance icebergIN THE SPOTLIGHT Federal troops are increasingly turning to high-tech tracking tools that push the boundaries of personal privacy
-
Israel retrieves final hostage’s body from GazaSpeed Read The 24-year-old police officer was killed during the initial Hamas attack
-
China’s Xi targets top general in growing purgeSpeed Read Zhang Youxia is being investigated over ‘grave violations’ of the law
-
Panama and Canada are negotiating over a crucial copper mineIn the Spotlight Panama is set to make a final decision on the mine this summer
-
Why Greenland’s natural resources are nearly impossible to mineThe Explainer The country’s natural landscape makes the task extremely difficult
-
Iran cuts internet as protests escalateSpeed Reada Government buildings across the country have been set on fire
-
US nabs ‘shadow’ tanker claimed by RussiaSpeed Read The ship was one of two vessels seized by the US military
-
‘Lumpy skin’ protests intensify across France as farmers fight cullIN THE SPOTLIGHT A bovine outbreak coupled with ongoing governmental frustrations is causing major problems for French civil society
-
How Bulgaria’s government fell amid mass protestsThe Explainer The country’s prime minister resigned as part of the fallout
