PARIS (TIP): In a victory speech, a mere 90 minutes after he was projected re-elected as French President for a second term on Sunday, April 24 evening, Emmanuel Macron, 44, with a twinkle in his eye and a smile on his face, assured those who did not vote for him: “I am no longer the candidate of one camp, but the President of all.” Many in this country voted for me not because they support my ideas but to keep out those of the far right. Emmanuel Macron, French president. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi was among the world leaders who congratulated Macron on his victory. Modi tweeted: “Congratulations to my friend Emmanuel Macron on being re-elected as the President of France! I look forward to continue working together to deepen the India-France Strategic Partnership. Narendra Modi, Prime Minister”

But on a more emotional note, on a brightly lit stage in the Place de la Republique in central Paris, his wife Brigitte with him, thousands of people as his audience and the iconic Eiffel Tower glowing in the background, Macron vowed “to heal the divisions that have been expressed in these elections, by ensuring respect for everyone, every day”. He said: “The years to come will certainly be difficult, but they will be historic and we will have to write them, together, for the new generations.” According to Ipsos-Sopra Steria, computing the result, Macron won with 58.8 per cent votes in his favor compared to 41.2 per cent for his far Right challenger, the 53-year-old Marine Le Pen. The second and final round of the French presidential election, which this was, is a straight contest between two candidates, after a first round eliminates others in the fray a fortnight earlier. The margin of Macron’s win was narrower than five years ago, when he attracted 66 per cent of votes to the same opponent’s 34 per cent. This was the first time since Jacques Chirac of the right-of-center Republican party in 2002, that a sitting president has been granted dual terms by French voters, whose preferences have been quite volatile in recent years. Macron’s En Marche movement was enthusiastically endorsed the following year at the expense of the long established Republican and Socialist parties.

(Source: IANS)