French election results and reactions as Macron wins second term
Emmanuel Macron will remain president of France for the next five years. His rival, Marine Le Pen, made big gains on 2017 and commits to remaining in politics
Emmanuel Macron and Marine Le Pen faced off in France's presidential election 2022
Shutterstock
Emmanuel Macron (La République En Marche) has won a second successive term as president of France with 58.54% of the vote.
He won out over far-right hopeful Marine Le Pen (Rassemblement National), who got 41.46%. She was competing in her third presidential election and was hoping to become the country’s first female president.
The abstention rate was 28.01%, the highest total since 1969.
There were 3,018,990 spoiled votes in total.
Sunday's election is a repeat of 2017, when Mr Macron beat Ms Le Pen with 66.1% of votes.
Read more: Five takeaways from France’s presidential election second round
Read more: Macron wins second term as president: How did your area vote?
Emmanuel Macron's reaction
Emmanuel Macron (La République En Marche) thanked supporters - and paid reference to those who did not vote for him - in a speech in Paris after being reelected president.
“After five years of transformation, of happy and difficult times, on this day of April 24, a majority of us have chosen to trust me to preside over our Republic for the next five years,” he said.
He was speaking following his victory to a large gathering of party members, journalists and supporters at the Champ de Mars in Paris’ seventh arrondissement, next to the Eiffel Tower.
Mr Macron arrived at the Champ de Mars surrounded by children with Beethoven’s Ode to Joy playing loudly. The song is the anthem of the European Union.
He repeatedly thanked his supporters in his speech and reiterated his gratitude to them for choosing him.
He also acknowledged that not everyone who voted for him did so because they supported his project, but in order to stop Ms Le Pen coming to power.
A poll by Ipsos-Sopra Steria shows that 58% of Emmanuel Macron's voters voted for him "above all because he would make a good president of the Republic" and 42% "above all to stop Marine Le Pen".
Read more about Mr Macron's speech in our article here: President Macron’s re-election win: ‘Now, we have so much to do’
Marine Le Pen’s reaction
Ms Le Pen phoned Mr Macron shortly after 20:00 on Sunday to concede defeat. She also announced in a speech that she intends to remain in politics.
“This result demonstrates the great defiance of the French people," she said.
“I do not feel any resentment or rancour.
“To avoid this monopolisation of power by a few, more than ever I will continue my commitment to France and the French.”
Other reactions
Jean-Luc Mélenchon, leader of the hard left La France insoumise, who finished third in the first round of this year’s presidential election. He is also vying to become prime minister.
To all of you, I say: 'Don't give up! Take action, openly, collectively. Democracy can give us the means to change this course.
The third round [of the election] starts tonight. On June 12 and 19 the legislative elections will take place, you can beat Mr Macron and choose another path. Another world is still possible if you elect a majority of the new left-wing union (Union populaire).
*
Éric Zemmour, leader of far-right party Reconquête, who finished fourth in the first round of this year’s presidential election and backed Ms Le Pen in the second.
“I want to state my disappointment and my sadness. Tonight, people who love France have lost and Emmanuel Macron has been re-elected easily.
It is the eighth time that defeat has hit the name of Le Pen. I did what I could to avoid this result but I did not succeed.
He called on politicians who are right wing and patriots to unite to form a coalition to challenge in the June legislative elections.
*
Jean-Yves Le Drian, French minister of Europe and foreign affairs - “It is a great satisfaction, it is above all the strength of the mobilisation of the French for our values”
*
Clément Beaune, minister of European affairs - “There is joy, satisfaction. It's a clear victory, with a big gap, that means something. The far-right still got above 40%. We need to carry this success to the legislative elections”
*
Charles Michel President of the European Council - “Warm congratulations Emmanuel Macron. In these troubled times, we need a strong Europe and a France fully committed to a more sovereign and strategic European Union. We can count on France for five more years”
*
Boris Johnson, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom - "Congratulations to Emmanuel Macron on your re-election as President of France. France is one of our closest and most important allies. I look forward to continuing to work together on the issues which matter most to our two countries and to the world"
Stats on the election
- Ms Le Pen improved her score compared to 2017 in the majority of towns and cities across France. She won over 60% of votes in more than 6,500 communes. She also improved her score by over 10 percentage points in 11,670 places35% of people who abstained did so because neither of the candidates corresponded to their ideas.
- A total of 25% said they decided not to vote because they are fed up of voting for one candidate just to stop the other winning
- 49% of people who spoiled their vote did so because they refused to choose between two candidates who they “totally reject”
- Of Mr Macron’s voters, 24% chose him to block Ms Le Pen from winning
- 92% of people who supported the left-wing Jean-Luc Mélenchon in the first round who voted for Mr Macron in the second did so to block Ms Le Pen
- Of Ms Le Pen’s voters, 54% voted for her because they think she would make a good president, while 46% did so to stop Mr Macron from winning
Satirical Twitter page
Satirical Twitter page Radio Londres (@RadioLondres_Of) tweeted before the official result announcement that “the cat” will not enter the presidential Élysée Palace. This is a reference to Ms Le Pen’s love for cats.
Radio Londres uses humorous codes in the style of real World War Two coded messages to the French Resistance to publish early election estimates from foreign media and other sources. In France, it is forbidden to publish election results before polls close at 20:00.
Useful articles to understand the presidential election
