At 20:00, polling stations in France closed. Turnout was low by French standards, with just over 70 percent of voters coming to the polls, the lowest since 1969.
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Almost 95 percent of the vote counted before midnight on Sunday. With 57 percent, Macron maintained a significant lead over Marine Le Pen, who received 43 percent of the vote.
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Shortly after the polls closed, Ifop, Elabe, OpinionWay and Ipsos estimated that Macron would receive about 57.6 to 58.2 percent of the vote, and Le Pen would receive 41.8 to 42.4 percent. This confirmed that election forecasts in France are mostly relatively accurate.
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According to estimates, between 27.8 and 28.8 percent of voters did not come to the polls, which probably confirmed the predictions that the smallest part of the electorate in the last more than 50 years will participate in this year’s second round of elections.
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Macron will become the first French president to defend his mandate in 20 years. Jaques Chirak last succeeded in 2002. However, he will clearly beat Le Pen by a significantly smaller lead than in 2017, which observers say many French people are dissatisfied with the country’s current leadership.
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| Former investment banker Macron, who won his first presidential term in 2017, is a progressive leader who can compromise on social and environmental issues. He has a central and pragmatic policy with the image of a progressive and liberal president. His position ahead of the current presidential election was strengthened by the Russian invasion of Ukraine – thanks to his diplomatic efforts in the matter and also because some of his opponents had previously sided with Russian President Vladimir Putin. |
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Le Pen acknowledged the defeat, but considered a gain of about 43 percent of the vote a glorious victory. “I will continue to fight for France and the French,” Le Pen said. “A big legislative election battle has just begun,” she added in connection with the upcoming parliamentary elections in June.
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The head of the European Council, Charles Michel, was one of the first to congratulate Macron. According to him, the EU can count on France for another five years. Congratulations were also sent by the Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala (ODS) and the head of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen.
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German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who congratulated the French head of state on Twitter for re-election, said Emmanuel Macron’s voters had sent a clear pro-European signal.
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Félicitations, congratulations, dear President @EmmanuelMacron. Your constituents also sent a strong commitment to Europe today.
I am pleased that we will continue our good cooperation! pic.twitter.com/ZJQSc6OAz9— Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz (@Bundeskanzler) April 24, 2022
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The Elysee Palace subsequently said that Scholz was the first foreign leader Macron spoke to after announcing the expected election results.
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Like the Chancellor, German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier spoke. A united Europe is the biggest winner of the French presidential election, says German Finance Minister Christian Lindner.
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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky also congratulated Macron on his victory shortly before midnight. He called his French counterpart a “true friend of Ukraine.”
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“I wish him further success for the good of the people of France. I appreciate his support and I am convinced that together we are moving forward with a new common victory. Moving strong and united Europe, “said Zelensky on Twitter in French.
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Congratulation to @EmmanuelMacron, a true friend of Ukraine, for re-election! I wish him further success for the good of the people 🇫🇷. I appreciate his support and I am convinced that we are moving forward together towards new common victories. Towards a strong and united Europe!
– Volodymyr Zelenskyy (@ZelenskyyUa) April 24, 2022
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Macron takes advantage of the defending president and spends crucial hours at the Presidential Palace in the city center. A few hundred meters away, a huge podium decorated in the colors of the French tricolor grew up on Mars Fields. Macron is scheduled to perform here at 9:30 p.m., with the Eiffel Tower in the background.
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According to Reuters, loud celebrations broke out in the staff after the first estimates were announced.
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Macron after the second round of the presidential election
Photo: Gonzalo Fuentes, Reuters
The choice of location is not random, the tower is a symbol of France around the world and will appear in the footage of all journalists present. 1200 of them were accredited to Macron’s camp and are currently crammed under the podium.
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As Macron continues in office, he cannot expect a peaceful start to a second term, according to Reuters. Many supporters of the left, for example, voted for him just because they wanted to prevent Le Pen’s victory. In France, therefore, protests that accompanied much of Macron’s first term on proposals for some of his reforms could soon break out again.
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Marine Le Pen in the second round of elections
Photo: Darrin Zammit Lupi, Reuters
Le Pen, who presented herself as a candidate for ordinary Frenchmen during the campaign, chose a large building for her staff, which looks like the buildings on the spa colonnade. Blue half-timbered facades, carved roof edges and inside marble floors and richly decorated glass chandeliers. Accreditation was won by 500 journalists who had been fighting for podiums in the afternoon so that their camera would have LePen in the speech.
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The nationalist is on the staff with the election team. While Macron’s staff, according to Reuters, is full of joy, Le Pen’s staff is buzzing and whistling.
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