The votes are in for the second time around, and to the eyes of a watching world, France decided to keep to the middle road. Centrist presidential candidate emmanuel macron of the party En Marche! had just defeated far-right National Front (FN) bet Marine Le Pen in a run-off last Sunday, May 7.

His final popular vote tally of 65.5% had caused France and the European Union to sigh in relief, having staved off disaster following the UK’s bid to withdraw from the EU. As the youngest French president-elect ever celebrated his victory with his supporters outside the Louvre in Paris, world leaders began reacting to the news and, when appropriate, started sending their felicitations.

Congratulating his favorite’s opponent

It’s no secret that US President Donald Trump was an ardent supporter of Marine Le Pen. He had even drawn parallels between the FN candidate’s rise during the 2017 French presidential election campaign period with his own buildup to triumph in the US polls last November 2016. At one point he even opined how the recent rash of terror attacks in France would help Le Pen secure the presidency.

Nevertheless, when the dust of voting had settled, Trump was among the first to present his congratulations to Macron, regarding him highly for what he described as an “easy victory” and expressing his eagerness to work with him as the new French leader.

It was a complete one-eighty turn at par with Le Pen’s own quick concession to her rival’s victory. It is noted that former President Barack Obama had voiced his own support for Macron’s campaign.

Hillary chimes in

Another prominent voice giving her two cents to the developments in France is former first lady, secretary of state and Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton, who stated in her Twitter post that Macron winning the election was a “triumph for France, the EU and the world.”

She was taking a jab at the proposed policies that Marine Le Pen would have put in place regarding the country had she won.

These included the scrapping of the Euro as currency and a prelude to a possible FREXIT referendum, and a harsh stance towards immigration and refugees into the country.

Clinton also termed Emmanuel Macron’s election as a “defeat” to elements interfering with democracy, another veiled jab at suspected attempts by Vladimir Putin’s Russia to interfere with the US polls, in particular, the email dump that soured Hillary’s image to Trump's advantage.

A similar email hack targeting Macron had occurred Friday, May 5. One last parting shot was aimed at American media.

Hollywood celebrities also chimed in on Twitter to congratulate Macron and France for its votes.
© ALL RIGHTS RESERVED