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France’s Macron wins second term, defeats Le Pen in first reelection win in 20 years
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French President Emmanuel Macron, a centrist, successfully fended off a challenge from the Right’s Marine Le Pen on Sunday, winning France’s first presidential reelection in 20 years.
After receiving 58.5 percent of votes in the presidential runoff, Macron, 44, won his second 5-year-term. This was a narrower victory than when Le Pen was defeated in 2017.
In his victory speech, French President Francois Hollande stated that he felt empowered to reunite the country “filled with so much doubts, so many divides” and promised a future where no one would be “left by the sidelines of the road.”
French President Emmanuel Macron waves as he greets Latvian Prime Minster Krisjanis Karins (L), prior to their meeting at Paris’ Elysee Presidential Palace on December 1, 2021 in Paris, France.
(Chesnot/Getty Images)
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Le Pen, 53, similarly celebrated Sunday evening, calling her loss a “shining victory” as her party garnered 41.5 percent of the vote — more than it did just five years ago.
“In this defeat, I can’t help but feel a form of hope,” she said.
As the first election projections in Paris, France are announced, supporters of French President Emmanuel Macron look at a screen in front the Eiffel Tower.
(AP Photo/Thibault Camus)
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The ongoing war between Russia & Ukraine was the focal point of Macron’s campaign. He pushed for international cooperation as well as a NATO-driven strategy against violence between the countries.
Macron declared in his speech, “We have much to do and war in Ukraine reminds of us that we’re going through tragic times when France must raise its voice,”
Marine Le Pen gestures after she arrives to speak in Paris, Sunday April 24, 2022, as the early results of the French presidential election race were announced.(AP Photo/Francois Mori)
Le Pen, on the other hand, campaigned for France to be separated from its international obligations and advocated for a withdrawal from NATO and EU. The challenger suggested a more neutral approach to dealing with Russia’s aggression and a refocusing on the French people.
Le Pen’s party broke an unprecedented level of support — which helped spark the runoff election. Le Pen previously lost the election with 34 percent of the vote, to Macron’s 66 percent.
This report was compiled by the Associated Press.