After winning the election, Macron promises to address “doubts and divisions.”

PARIS – Emmanuel Macron promised to heal profound divisions in France as he claimed a convincing victory over Marine Le Pen in the presidential election, recognising that many people voted for him just to defeat his far-right opponent.

With all eyes on a parliamentary election in June, he must now navigate another difficult campaign phase in order to secure a legislature that will give him the majority he needs to carry out his policies. find out more

Macron received 58.54 percent of the vote in Sunday’s runoff, which was in line with late polling but a larger margin of victory than many previous polls indicated.

In addition, the extreme right now has its highest share of the electoral vote in history.

“Many people in this country voted for me not because they agree with my beliefs, but to keep the far-right out. I want to express my gratitude and acknowledge that I will owe them a debt in the future “In a late-night victory speech, Macron stated.

“Because our country is afflicted with so many doubts and divides, we will have to be compassionate and courteous.”

While Macron’s margin of victory was solid, it was significantly less than the 66.1 percent he received in their first runoff in 2017, and even less than the 82 percent won by conservative Jacques Chirac in 2002, when the far-right first reached the runoff round.

Jean-Luc Melenchon, a hard-left presidential candidate who finished third behind Le Pen in the first round, instantly declared the June 12 and 19 legislative elections a “third round” of the presidential election.

Opposition parties of all sorts will be seeking to win this election.

On Monday, the conservative daily Le Figaro published the following editorial in its main editorial: “The marble statue is, in fact, a giant with clay feet. Emmanuel Macron is well aware of this… he will not be granted a grace period.”

After a first mandate in which Macron himself described his leadership style as “Jupiterian,” suggesting he would keep above the political fray, the message from Macron’s team on Monday was that they would listen more.

“When a proposal that affects the life of the French comes to the National Assembly, the deputies must go and discuss it with the French,” said Richard Ferrand, the parliament’s head and a close supporter of Macron, to France Inter.

“Otherwise, there is a possibility of a schism between MPs and public opinion in France.”

Also Read

Paris: two people shot dead while speeding toward cops

On the evening of the French election, police in central Paris opened...

Protests that disrupted some of Macron’s first term are likely to resurface as he pushes through his economic reforms, which include plans to raise the retirement age from 62 to 65 years.

“It’s evident that he’s not going to do another five years with the same mandate.” “We’re not going to let him do it,” said Colette Sierra, a 63-year-old administrative worker.

“I believe people are ready to take action if he does.”

However, other voters were truly pleased with Macron’s victory.

“I’m really pleased with the outcome because this president has already guided us through various obstacles,” said Lucien Sozinho, a 65-year-old lorry driver. “He has demonstrated courage, and that is the end outcome.”

After a campaign dominated by cost-of-living issues, Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire told Franceinfo that energy price ceilings would be extended until the end of the year to help alleviate the spike in energy prices caused by the Ukraine conflict.