French President Emmanuel Macron was re-elected by a wide margin with 58.8% of the votes.
His far-right rival, Marine Le Pen conceded shortly after the first projections showed Macron winning more than 58 percent of Sunday’s presidential run-off.
Addressing a victory rally at the foot of the Eiffel Tower, Macron vowed to respond efficiently to the “anger and disagreement” of voters who chose the far right.
“I know that a number of French people have voted for me today, not to support my ideas but to stop the ideas of the far-right,” he said and called on supporters to be “kind and respectful” to others because the country was riven by “so much doubt, so much division”.
French President Macron may have won a second term in office but political analysts assume the continued rise of the far-right will cause him significant worries over the coming years.
European Council President Charles Michel and the prime ministers of Belgium and Luxembourg, were among the first to congratulate Macron, followed by other world leaders.
United States President Joe Biden also hailed Macron’s victory. “I look forward to our continued close cooperation – including on supporting Ukraine, defending democracy, and countering climate change,” he said in a tweet.