French President Emmanuel Macron cruised to a second term Sunday, beating back a stronger-than-expected challenge from a far-right populist who has attacked the European Union …
French President Emmanuel Macron cruised to a second term Sunday, beating back a stronger-than-expected challenge from a far-right populist who has attacked the European Union and NATO and expressed support for Russia. In a rematch of the 2017 presidential election, Macron led challenger Marine Le Pen with more than 58% of the vote, according to projected results from the French news media, working with national pollsters. Le Pen conceded shortly after the announced projection. She noted that she improved her performance from five years ago and will now concentrate on legislative elections for her party. «The game is not completely over,» she told supporters. Five years ago, Macron defeated Le Pen with more than 66% of the vote. Macron,44, who built his own political party to run for president in 2017, won again despite a first term beset by protests of his economic policies, the COVID-19 pandemic and, most recently, the Russian invasion of Ukraine that roiled diplomatic relations across the globe. His reelection also dealt a setback to the populist movements that have upended politics across the Western world, from Brexit to the successes of Viktor Orban in Hungary and Donald Trump in the United States. “When one puts back together your project brick by brick, it’s a project that’s about getting out of the EU, even if it doesn’t explicitly say so,” Macron told Le Pen in their last debate. American and European government officials greeted news of Macron’s reelection with relief. Some analysts in the United States pointed out Macron won despite approval ratings of less than 40% – about the same as President Joe Biden, who is contemplating a reelection run of his own in 2024. «An interesting observation, just FYI,» tweeted White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain.
