Emmanuel Macron, President, France|Paquierjacques|CC BY 2.0
France’s Emmanuel Macron made history on Sunday when he won the presidential elections for the second term, becoming the first French leader to be re-elected since 2002.
Macron defeated the far-right rival Marine Le Pen and secured 58.55% of the votes, while Le Pen secured 41.45%—marking her highest voting count to date.
Acknowledging dissatisfaction with his first term, Macron said he would seek to make amends.
“Many in this country voted for me not because they support my ideas but to keep out those of the far-right,” Macron said. He also stated, “No one in France will be left by the wayside,” and pledged that he will be a “president for all.”
While world leaders congratulated Macron’s left-centrist victory, hard-left leader Jean-Luc Melenchon had earlier refused to endorse Macron.
It is also worth noting that this year's French elections saw the lowest voter count since 1969, with one in three voters voting for neither of the candidates.
Anti-Macron demonstrators rallied in some cities, including Paris, Rennes, Toulouse and Nantes, refusing to accept the result.
