Politicians in Germany and across the world have congratulated Emmanuel Macron on the outcome of the French election, which saw the centrist president beat his right-wing populist rival Marine Le Pen to return for a second five-year term. 

Macron beats Le Pen in French presidential elections

On Sunday night, Macron became the first French President to win a second term in almost two decades, bringing home 58,54 percent of the vote, compared to Le Pen’s 41,46 percent. The result was seen as a decisive victory for the pro-European, centrist Macron, but also saw him lose ground compared to 2017. 

Le Pen won more than 13 million votes, the highest ever tally for a far-right party in a French presidential election, after promising to fix the cost of living crisis, impose a headscarf ban, and bring in policies to prioritise native-French people for jobs, housing, social security and healthcare - policies described by Macron as “racist” and “divisive”.

Macron congratulated by politicians in Germany and worldwide

Many politicians in Germany and across the world expressed relief at Macron’s victory. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz congratulated his French counterpart early on Sunday night after projections showed him on track to win. “Your voters have sent a strong vote of confidence in Europe today. I am happy that we will continue our good cooperation,” Scholz wrote on Twitter. Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier wrote: “Your re-election is also good news to us Germans… You have done democracy in France and in Europe a great service.” 

Elsewhere across the world, congratulations came from US President Joe Biden, who described France as “our oldest ally and an important partner in global tasks”, as well as UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who also named France “one of our closest and most important allies.” 

Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelenskyy also gave his congratulations, writing on his official Twitter account: “Congratulations to the President and a true friend on his re-election. I am convinced that we will set out together for new common successes. Here’s to a strong and united Europe.” 

Among the congratulations, however, were some notes of caution, with Saskia Esken of the SPD, for instance, saying that more needed to be done to temper the rise of the far right. “The whole of Europe has the task of also counteracting these tendencies, also to ensure that people feel more strongly connected to politics than is apparently the case in many places at the moment,” she told Deutschlandfunk.