Emmanuel Macron Defeats Marine Le Pen, Re-Elected For 2nd Term As France President

Emmanuel Macron has been re-elected for a second term in office after defeating his far-right rival, Marine Le Pen, in the 2022 presidential election in France.

Emmanuel Macron Defeats Marine Le Pen

According to the projection by pollsters, Macron is expected to take around 57 to 58.2 percent of the votes on Sunday, April 24, while Le Pen will get around 42 percent.

Macron, who is the first sitting president to be re-elected in 20 years, has advanced to the runoff with Le Pen after finishing in first and second place, respectively, among 12 candidates who ran in the first round on April 10.

Following the announcement of the projected win on Sunday night, Macron delivered a speech to his supporters in Paris, thanking them for backing him and expressing his commitment to addressing the country’s problems.

He said, “After five years of happy transformation and difficult challenges, this day, a majority amongst us chose to trust me to pilot the republic for the next five years.

“I want to thank all of the activists, all of the workers, all of the people along with us for the ride, and all of the elected officials who supported me and made this election possible. I know that you have given so much of your energy, your effort, to this endeavor.

“I want to thank all of the French people, who at the first and second rounds of the presidential election, placed their trust in me so together we can undertake our project to make France more independent, Europe stronger, and through investments and changes, continue to implement change that is relevant for everyone by freeing creativity and innovation in our country and making France a great, green nation.”

Le Pen also delivered a speech conceding defeat, while also celebrating her “historic score” in the vote. She said,:

“A great wind of freedom could have blown over our country; the fate of the ballot box wanted otherwise. The results of tonight represent a shining victory.

“In this defeat, I can’t help but feel a form of hope. This result constitutes for our French leaders as for the European leaders the testimony of a great mistrust of the French people towards them which they cannot ignore and that of the widely shared aspiration of a great change.”

Le Pen also vowed to keep up the fight, with the June parliamentary elections in mind. “I will never abandon the French,” she said to supporters chanting “Marine! Marine!”

Macron will become the second French presidents to secure a second term. But his margin of victory looks to be tighter than when he first beat Le Pen in 2017, underlining how many French remain unimpressed with him and his domestic record.

KanyiDaily had reported how President Emmanuel Macron was slapped in the face by a man in a crowd as he spoke to the public during a visit to a small town in southeastern France.