Marine Le Pen said on Sunday that she would keep up the political fight against President Emmanuel Macron in the run-up to June parliamentary elections, as she conceded defeat to the incumbent in France's presidential election.
"The French showed this evening a desire for a strong counterweight against Emmanuel Macron, for an opposition that will continue to defend and protect them," she told supporters after early projections indicated she had lost the election.
YVES HERMAN
Cheers erupted at the foot of the Eiffel Tower where supporters of President Emmanuel Macron celebrated his re-election on Sunday, moments after first projections showed he had won the vote by a comfortable margin.
Boos and whistles broke out at the campaign party of his challengerLe Pen.
French President Emmanuel Macron defeated his rival Marine Le Pen on Sunday by a comfortable margin, early projections by pollsters showed, securing a second term and heading off what would have been a political earthquake.
The first projections showed Macron securing around 57-58% of the vote. Such estimates are normally accurate but may be fine-tuned as official results come in from around the country.
Ifop, Elabe, OpinionWay and Ipsos pollsters projected a 57.6-58.2% win for Macron.
Victory for the centrist, pro-European Union Macron would be hailed by allies as a reprieve for mainstream politics that have been rocked in recent years by Britain's exit from the European Union, the 2016 election of Donald Trump and the rise of a new generation of nationalist leaders.
YVES HERMAN
Macron will join a small club - only two French presidents before him have managed to secure a second term. But his margin of victory looks to be tighter than when he first beat Le Pen in 2017, underlining how many French remain unimpressed with him and his domestic record.
