French President Macron wins second term

Specifically, according to France24, with more than 95% of the votes counted, President Macron won 57.6% of the votes (equivalent to 17,326,492 votes). Meanwhile, candidate Le Pen won 42.7% of the votes (equivalent to 12,920,919 votes). According to the law, in this second round of direct elections, the candidate who wins more than 50% of the total votes will be the winner.

The above results mean that incumbent President Emmanuel Macron has won this year's election to continue leading France for another 5-year term.

The leader of the French far-right National Front party, Marine Le Pen, has conceded defeat. In a message to her supporters, Le Pen said she would continue her political career in the parliamentary elections in June.

Immediately after the results were announced, President Macron gave a speech at the foot of the Eiffel Tower in Paris to his supporters. President Macron emphasized that he is not a candidate of any faction but "President of all the French people", and affirmed that no one will be left behind in his next 5-year term. He said: "Thank you for giving me the confidence to create a more independent France and a stronger Europe, through investment and far-reaching changes... to make France a great ecological country".

Mr. Emmanuel Macron, 44 years old, representing the centrist Republicans on the Move party, is the first President to be re-elected since the term of the late President Jaques Chirac (2002-2007).

A series of European and world leaders have congratulated French President Macron on his victory. Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo and Luxembourg Prime Minister Xavier Bettel - allies of Mr. Macron, were the first leaders to congratulate the French President on his re-election.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, European Council President Charles Michel, and many other European leaders also sent congratulations to President Macron after the vote results.

On Twitter, Ms. der Leyen wrote: "I look forward to continuing our deep and constructive cooperation within the European Union (EU) and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), and further strengthening the cooperation between member states in the alliance." Mr. Michel sent his congratulations to Mr. Macron, emphasizing that "in these turbulent times, we need a strong Europe and a France fully committed to a more sovereign and strategic European Union."

On Twitter, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson wrote: "France is one of our closest and most important allies. I look forward to continuing to work together on the most important issues between our two countries, as well as on the issues of the world." Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi declared Mr Macron's victory "great news for the whole of Europe", while German Chancellor Olaf Scholz stressed that French voters had sent a strong commitment to Europe and expressed his joy that the two countries would continue their good cooperation.

Economically, forecasts show that France's growth is at risk due to the impact of war and disease. France's growth forecast is down to 2% instead of 4%. That's not to mention the increasing budget and trade deficits.

On the social front, the re-elected president will have the responsibility of healing the growing rift in society. The divide between the wealthy middle class and low-wage workers, which was exposed by the Yellow Vests crisis two years ago, has been deepened by two years of the Covid-19 pandemic.

In terms of foreign affairs, participating in resolving the Ukraine conflict with its geopolitical, economic, security and military impacts will be the top challenge for the French leader in the coming time. And finally, the environment is also a major issue that the new French President will have to pay attention to in order to promptly implement measures to limit climate change and global warming.