Emmanuel Macron appears, re-elected at the Elysee: 'We will respond to the country's anger'

“Et un, et deux, et cinq ans de plus!”. Under the Eiffel Tower, supporters of Emmanuel Macron, who won for the second time in a row over Marine Le Pen in the presidential election, sang in triple colors.

Macron received 18.7 million votes, 58.55% of the vote. As for the competition, Marine Le Pen, 13.3 million French voted, or 41.45% of the vote. Abstentions are the highest since 1969, at 28.01%.

Great disappointment among Le Pen’s supporters, although the leader immediately announced a “sensational result” of a promising battle for the legislative elections in June. After sunset, which was expected by a few thousand supporters, Macron arrived under the Eiffel Tower in a completely different atmosphere than 5 years ago, when France celebrated its youngest president (39 years) and measured the footsteps of the Louvre’s perimeter to the tunes of the poem of joy. That music, the symbol of Europe, returned to the background tonight as Macron approached the stage, no longer alone, but side by side with Brigitte, surrounded by a group of very young boys. Then the strange, very short speech declaring a “new era” and promising to “respond to the country’s wrath”. He was also praised by many government ministers, from Jean-Yves Le Drian (Foreign Affairs) to Clément Bonn (European Affairs). Many of them already know – like Prime Minister Jean Castex – that for them the adventure is about to come to an end. Macron promised that the new term “will not be a continuation of the past five years”, marked by crises as deep as the yellow vests. However, the first thing the president thought of on stage was those who “don’t share our thoughts” but voted for him to “block the way to the far right”: “In the coming years – he promised – I’ll be indebted to them.”

France, once again, had to vote on the ballot for a candidate who was a bulwark against the far right. It happened 20 years ago to Jacques Chirac, the last re-elected president of the Elysee before Macron, who opposed Marine’s father, Jean-Marie Le Pen. It was the first time that the leader of the National Front, the far right, had reached the second round of the presidential election and the shock to France was colossal: every day, on the streets of Paris, thousands of people took to the streets. Say no to everyone. The right to power. This time, none of this among the students of the Sorbonne was the slogan “Neither Macron nor Le Pen”. For this reason, Macron, who has made only two appearances in a reduced election campaign, comes with completely different accents and themes. “The anger and controversies that led so many people to vote for the far right have to find an answer – said the president – you have to find an answer. This will be my responsibility and those around me.” Macron’s eyes, along with the eyes of the many French excluded from the Battle of the Elysee, have been turning left for days. The traditional left has been slashed to pieces, with Socialist Party candidate Anne Hidalgo at 1.7%, and environmentalists at less than 5%. Only Jean-Luc Melenchon, the tribune of the radical left of France Ensumés, holds the flag of the so-called “Union of the People” aloft.

A few hundred demonstrators, mostly young antifas, launched rallies in Paris and other French cities to protest against President Emmanuel Macron’s re-election. Immediately after Macron’s victory was announced, in the center of Paris – the Les Halls district – between 250 and 300 anti-SAF protesters marched, chanting “Macron go” and clashing with police. Among the slogans, “Marine Le Pen sucks” and “Manu Macron, disgusting.” The procession arrived at the place of the Republic. On the way, objects and stones were thrown at the police, trash containers and parked motorbikes overturned. Violent events in Rennes, northwest of the country, where 250 people gathered in the center behind a banner reading “What we don’t get from the ballot boxes, we will get from the field.” Among the slogans are “Macron is waging war on us with his police” and “Down with the state, the police and the fascists.” The landfills caught fire with the intervention of firefighters on several occasions. Seven protesters were arrested. Incidents also occurred in the city center of Nantes, during a protest march in which 400-500 people participated, as well as in Toulouse, chanting “Neither Macron nor Le Pen, revolution.” 200 marched in Caen, a hundred in Strasbourg, without incident.

Russian President Vladimir Putin congratulated Emmanuel Macron on his appointment to the Elysee and wished him “success” in his second term. This was stated by the Kremlin, citing Interfax. He also congratulated Chinese President Xi Jinping on the appearance. US President Joe Biden congratulated Macron, saying the two countries would continue to cooperate to “defend democracy”. “I look forward to continuing our close cooperation, in particular to support Ukraine, defend democracy and fight climate change,” Biden wrote on Twitter, calling France a “key partner.” “Congratulations to Emmanuel Macron, a true friend of Ukraine,” President Volodymyr Zelensky wrote in French on Twitter.