In the previous presidential elections, those of 2017, the far-right and the current French president were also measured in a second round, but the margin of votes was much wider than that of this 2022
Emmanuel Macron was re-elected for a second presidential term in France, after winning the second round of the presidential elections held this Sunday, April 24, in which he faced far-right Marine Le Pen. Thus he becomes the first president to obtain a re-election since 2002.
In the voting, according to the first estimates, the candidate of La República en Marcha (LREM) obtained between 57.6% and 58.2% of the vote, a narrower victory than in 2017 when he defeated his rival from the Agrupación Nacional ( RN), also Le Pen, who obtained 66.1% of the vote against 33.9%.
This time, however, between 27.8% and 29.8% of French people did not go to the polls, an unprecedented level of abstention since 1969, when it reached 31.3%.
According to French media reports, as of 8:00 am (local time) the mobilization of voters had already begun to be seen in the centers in the big cities. Meanwhile, in the overseas territories, voting began earlier due to the time difference. Hence, the preliminary reports were given around 8:00 pm, French time.
In his first speech after winning re-election, Macron came clean and said he knew many did not vote for him to support him, but to curb the far right. “I want to thank you,” he said.
He added that “the years to come will not be quiet, but they will be historic years and together we will know how to write them for our generations.”
For his part, Le Pen accepted his defeat, but asked to give a “great battle” in the legislative elections to be held in France in June this year. This is because he considered the result he obtained in these elections to be good.
“In this defeat, I still feel hope. The French today express the desire for a strong counterpower against Mr. Macron,” said the far-right, who was going to be the first female president in France to have won the elections.
What does Europe say about Macron’s victory?
Diplomats from European institutions have congratulated Macron on his victory, including Ursula von der Leyen, head of the European Commission, and the president of the European Council, who sent messages on social networks such as “I am delighted to be able to continue our excellent cooperation” and “We can count on France for another five years.”
congratulations to @EmmanuelMacron on your re-election as President of France. France is one of our closest and most important allies. I look forward to continuing to work together on the issues which matter most to our two countries and to the world.
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— Boris Johnson (@BorisJohnson) April 24, 2022
For his part, German Chancellor Scholz said that “Macron’s re-election in France is a vote of confidence for Europe.” And that is the position shared by most of Europe. In fact, the President of Spain himself, Pedro Sánchez, celebrated the re-election and stressed that “citizens have chosen a France committed to a free, strong and fair EU”.
The citizens have chosen a France committed to a free, strong and fair EU.
Democracy wins. Europe wins.
Congratulations @EmmanuelMacron. #Presidentielles2022
– Pedro Sánchez (@sanchezcastejon) April 24, 2022
However, other candidates who were eliminated in the first round —the one held on April 10 with 12 participating candidates, of which only two managed to qualify: Macron with 27.8% of the votes, and Le Pen, who obtained 23.1% of the votes—rejected the results. The leader of the radical left in France, Jean-Luc Mélenchon, was one of them, after saying that he has been the “worst elected” president due to the high levels of abstention.
“Nothing in an ocean of abstention, blank and invalid vote,” he said minutes after Macron’s victory was announced.
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