France elections: Emmanuel Macron wins second term, defeats far-right rival Marine Le Pen

French President Emmanuel Macron comfortably won re-election to a second term with 58.8 per cent of the votes on Sunday. Macron defeated his far-right rival Marine Le Pen by a comfortable margin.

Macron is the first French president in 20 years to win re-election since incumbent Jacques Chirac trounced Le Pen's father in 2002.

The second five-year term for the 44-year-old centrist spared France and Europe from the seismic upheaval of having firebrand populist Marine Le Pen at the helm, Macron's presidential runoff challenger who quickly conceded defeat but was still on course for her best-ever electoral showing.

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Acknowledging that numerous voters cast ballots for him simply to keep out the fiercely nationalist far-right Le Pen, Macron pledged to reunite the country that is filled with so many doubts, so many divisions and work to assuage the anger of French voters that fed Le Pen's campaign.

"No one will be left by the side of the road," Macron said in a victory speech against the backdrop of the Eiffel Tower and a projection of the blue-white-and-red tricolour French flag. He was cheered by several hundred supporters who happily waved French and EU flags.

"We have a lot to do and the war in Ukraine reminds us that we are going through tragic times where France must make its voice heard," Macron said.

During her campaign, Le Pen pledged to dilute French ties with the 27-nation EU, NATO and Germany, moves that would have shaken Europe's security architecture as the continent deals with its worst conflict since World War II.

Le Pen also spoke out against EU sanctions on Russian energy supplies and faced scrutiny during the campaign over her previous friendliness with the Kremlin.

A chorus of European leaders hailed Macron's victory since France has played a leading role in international efforts to punish Russia with sanctions and is supplying weapons to Ukraine.

Democracy wins, Europe wins," said Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez. Together we will make France and Europe advance," tweeted European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

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Italian Premier Mario Draghi hailed Macron's victory as splendid news for all of Europe and a boost to the EU "being a protagonist in the greatest challenges of our times, starting with the war in Ukraine.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called Macron a true friend of Ukraine on Sunday and expressed appreciation for his support. 

(With PTI inputs)