(CNN) —Emmanuel Macron won the presidential elections of Francefending off a historic challenge from far-right candidate Marine Le Pen during Sunday’s runoff.
Macron won 58.55% of the vote on Sunday, making him the first French leader to be re-elected in 20 years.
Although Macron’s speech to voters, of a globalized and economically liberal France at the head of a strong European Union, defeated Le Pen’s vision of a radical change inward, 41.8% of the people who voted for her brought the French extreme right closer to the presidency than ever before.
Macron’s supporters, gathered in the shadow of the Eiffel Tower in central Paris, erupted in massive cheers when the news was announced. The celebration was significantly more low-key than following Macron’s victory in 2017, although he once once more walked to deliver his speech to the European anthem, commonly known as the “Ode to Joy.”
In his victory speech, Macron promised to be the “president of each and every one of you.” He then thanked his followers and acknowledged that many, like in 2017, voted for him simply to block the extreme right.
Macron said his second term would not be a continuation of his first and vowed to address all of France’s current problems.
He also addressed those who directly supported Le Pen and said that he, as president, must find an answer to “the anger and disagreements” that led them to vote for the extreme right.
“It will be my responsibility and that of those around me,” Macron said.
Within half an hour, Le Pen delivered a concession speech to her supporters gathered near a pavilion in the Bois de Boulogne, west of Paris.
“A great wind of freedom might have blown over our country, but the polls decided otherwise,” Le Pen said.
Still, Le Pen acknowledged the fact that the far right had never performed so well in a presidential election. He described the result as “historic” and a “brilliant victory” that placed his political party, Agrupación Nacional, “in an excellent position” for the legislative elections in June.
“The game is not quite over,” he said.
Le Pen admits defeat
Marine Le Pen admitted defeat in the second round of the French presidential election, but said its results were nonetheless a victory. Sounding combative, Le Pen indicated that she would keep fighting.
He pointed to legislative elections in two months and urged his supporters to continue supporting his party.
“A great wind of freedom might have blown over our country, the destiny of the polls wanted something else.”
He added: “I will not abandon the French! Vive la France,” he concluded in brief remarks west of Paris.
Marine Le Pen hinted that despite losing the presidential election to Emmanuel Macron, securing almost 42% of French voters means her far-right movement has a solid foundation on which it can build for the future.
In her concession speech, Le Pen said that “the game is not quite over, as legislative elections will take place in a few weeks.”
“Tonight we launch the great battle of the legislative elections… with all those who have the nation at heart… I will never give up on the French,” he added.
Putin’s possible impact on these elections
Macron and Le Pen advanced to the second round following finishing first and second, respectively, among 12 candidates who competed in the first round on April 10. They spent the next two weeks touring the country courting those who did not vote for them in the first round.
The second-round lineup was a repeat of the 2017 presidential runoff, when Macron, then a political newcomer, defeated Le Pen by almost two votes to one. This time, however, Macron had to present a mixed record on domestic issues, such as his handling of the yellow vest protests and the covid-19 pandemic.
Le Pen’s ability to attract new voters since 2017 is the latest sign that the French public is turning to extremist politicians to express discontent with the status quo. In the first round, far-left and far-right candidates accounted for more than 57% of the votes cast, while 26.3% of registered voters stayed home, resulting in the lowest turnout in 20 years .
Le Pen’s campaign sought to tap into public anger over the falling cost of living by campaigning hard to help people cope with inflation and rising energy prices, a major concern of the French electorate, instead trusting the anti-Islamist, anti-immigration and Eurosceptic positions that dominated his first two attempts to win the presidency in 2017 and 2012.
She presented herself as a more conventional and less radical candidate, although much of her manifesto remains the same as it was five years ago. “Stopping uncontrolled immigration” and “eradicating Islamist ideologies” were the two priorities in her manifesto, and analysts said many of her policies on the EU would have pitted France once morest the bloc.
Although Le Pen had abandoned some of her most controversial political proposals, such as leaving the European Union and the euro, her views on immigration and her position on Islam in France (she wants to make it illegal for women to wear the veil in public) I do not change.
“I think the veil is a uniform imposed by the Islamists,” he said during Wednesday’s only presidential debate. “I think the vast majority of women who wear one can’t really do anything else, even if they don’t dare say so.”
But Vladimir Putin was perhaps his greatest political risk. Before Russia invaded Ukraine, Le Pen was an outspoken supporter of Russia’s president, even visiting him during his 2017 campaign. Her party also took out a loan from a Czech Russian bank several years ago that she is still paying off.
Although he has since condemned the invasion of Moscow, Macron attacked Le Pen for her previous positions during the debate. He argued that he might not be trusted to represent France when dealing with the Kremlin.
“You are talking to your banker when you are talking to Russia. That is the problem,” Macron said during the debate. “She cannot adequately defend France’s interests on this issue because her interests are linked to people close to Russian power.”
Le Pen said her party was forced to seek financing abroad because no French bank would approve the loan request, but the defense apparently did not resonate.
CNN’s Simon Bouvier, Xiaofei Xu, Camille Knight and Elias Lemercier contributed to this report.