Macron defeats Le Pen in French presidential runoff election

April 26, 2022

On Monday, Emmanuel Macron was declared the winner of the in a runoff defeating  by securing 58.54% of the votes. The two had previously faced each other in the.

The margin of victory by Macron and his party was smaller than in 2017 and marked the strongest performance ever by the far-right  party.

In his victory speech, Macron said: "Many in this country voted for me not because they support my ideas but to keep out those of the far-right. I want to thank them and know I owe them a debt in the years to come. We will have to be benevolent and respectful because our country is riddled with so many doubts, so many divisions."

"A great wind of freedom could have blown over our country, but the ballot box decided otherwise," said Le Pen in her concession speech. "The game is not quite over," she added.

In June, France will hold.