France’s centrist candidate, Emmanuel Macron, has won the country’s  presidential election by a resoundingly margin over far-right candidate, Marine Le Pen.

Initial estimates showed Macron winning between 65.5 percent and 66.1 percent of ballots ahead of Le Pen, who is expected to win between 33.9 percent and 34.5 percent.

In an interview with AFP, Macron said his election victory represented “hope” and a “new chapter” for France. “A new chapter in our long history begins tonight. I want it to be one of hope and renewed confidence,” he added.

Defeated candidate, Marine Le Pen, claimed a “historic, massive result” for her far-right National Front (FN) in Sunday’s presidential run-off, AFP reported.

Le Pen made a short statement, saying she had called Macron to wish him “success” in tackling the “huge challenges” he faced. Le Pen also announced that she would lead the FN into June’s legislative elections.

People in France started to cast their ballots in the presidential run-off earlier on Sunday after polling stations opened at 8 a.m. local time (0600 GMT). Some 47 million people were eligible to vote at 66,546 polling stations across the European countries.

Figures from the Interior Ministry said 65.30 percent of voters had turned out by 5 p.m. (1500 GMT), which was lower than in any of the past four presidential elections at the same stage of the day, Reuters reported.

Pollsters’ estimates based on these figures put the final turnout at 73-75 percent, down from around 80 percent or more in those past four elections. Macron and Le Pen won the first round of voting in France’s presidential election on April 23. Macron finished first with 24 percent, ahead of Le Pen with 21.3 percent.

The populist far-right candidate has portrayed herself as anti-EU, anti-NATO, and anti-immigration. Macron is seen as a centrist who aims to continue the policies of outgoing President Francois Hollande by deregulating the economy and deepening integration with the European Union.

Source: Presstv

French centrist Emmanuel Macron sought to cement his front-runner status Friday on the last day of campaigning for the weekend’s election run-off after a bruising and divisive race. Pro-European Macron and far-right anti-immigration candidate Marine Le Pen have offered starkly different visions for France during a campaign that has been closely watched in Europe and the rest of the world.

And the battle has only increased in intensity in the final days after a bad-tempered debate, with Macron filing a legal complaint over rumors he has an offshore account. Both candidates plan high-profile television appearances on the final day as they seek to win over voters, with polls suggesting the 39-year-old Macron enjoys a 20-point lead over his opponent.

At a final rally Thursday in the northern village of Ennemain, Le Pen told supporters she would give them back the keys to the Elysee Palace. “France cannot wait five more years to hold its head high,” she said. At an earlier stop in the western town of Dol-de-Bretagne, protesters threw eggs at her entourage, although she was not hit. During a final rally in the southwest town of Albi, Macron told cheering supporters, “We will keep our promise of change to the end.”

The former economy minister came under fire however from dozens of union activists demanding the abolition of France’s controversial 2016 labor reforms. Macron’s legal complaint came after Le Pen repeated rumors he had an offshore account during Wednesday’s TV debate, during which the pair clashed over terrorism, the economy and Europe, watched by 16.5 million people.

“I hope that we will not find out that you have an offshore account in the Bahamas,” Le Pen said during the debate, which was her last chance to narrow the gap. The 39-year-old ex-economy minister described his rival’s insinuation as “defamation” and after his complaint, French prosecutors launched a probe Thursday into who started the rumor.

Macron’s campaign team called it a “textbook case” of “fake news,” saying it was spread on Twitter by accounts close to Kremlin-friendly news sites like Sputnik and RT as well as supporters of US President Donald Trump. Le Pen hit back on French radio Friday saying she was “not at all” the target of the legal suit and her National Front (FN) party had “absolutely nothing to do” with the rumors.

After the debate, a snap poll by French broadcaster BFMTV found that nearly two-thirds of viewers thought Macron was the “most convincing” of the two, broadly mirroring forecasts for the decisive election Sunday. In the first round of the election on April 23, Le Pen finished second behind Macron with 21.3 percent after softening the FN’s image over the past six years — but without fully removing doubt about the party’s core beliefs. Le Pen has tried to portray Macron as being soft on extremism, playing to the concerns of many of her supporters after a string of terror attacks in France.

She sees her rise as the consequence of growing right-wing nationalism and a backlash against globalization reflected in the election of Donald Trump in the United States and Britain’s shock vote to leave the European Union.

Meanwhile, Macron won high-profile backing from former US president Barack Obama, who said in a video he “appeals to people’s hopes and not their fears.” Obama said Macron had “put forward a vision for the important role that France plays in Europe and around the world,” and added “Vive la France!”

(Source: Presstv)

UK Prime Minister Theresa May has accused the European Union of using Brexit as an excuse to influence the outcome of Britain’s upcoming general election. Speaking after a meeting with Queen Elizabeth II, May told reporters at 10 Downing Street on Wednesday that the “bureaucrats of Brussels” were hoping to sway voters by making “threats” against the country.

“The European Commission’s negotiating stance has hardened. Threats against Britain have been issued by European politicians and officials,” she said. She also attacked the European media, saying they had “misrepresented” her government’s stance on negotiations concerning the UK’s withdrawal from the EU. “Britain’s negotiating position in Europe has been misrepresented in the continental press,” she said, apparently taking a swipe at a German newspaper’s allegations about her dinner with EU Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker.

According to the report, Juncker had warned May during last Wednesday’s dinner that the negotiations will not start until London pays an alleged amount of £60 billion on its “divorce bill” and clarifies the future of EU citizens residing in the UK.

May later on dismissed the claims as “Brussels gossip.” In compliance with British law for general elections, she asked the queen to dissolve the Parliament on Wednesday. Earlier in the day, the EU’s chief Brexit negotiator, Michel Barnier, said a deal with Britain over its departure from the bloc would not be reached “quickly and painlessly.”

Source: Presstv