China’s Xi congratulates Macron on French election win

His victory served as a relief to European allies who had feared another populist result after Britain’s vote to exit the European Union and Donald Trump’s ascension to U.S. president previous year.

“I know the divisions in our nation, which led some to vote for extremist parties”.

The interior ministry on Sunday reported a record number of blank and invalid ballots.

That margin of victory, if confirmed, would represent a more decisive victory for Macron than polls had previously indicated.

Macron was far from a traditional candidate, having built his En Marche movement after leaving the Socialist party.

The fervently pro-European Macron wants to team up with Germany to reform the European Union, which has been weakened by Britain’s vote to leave. He built a reputation with his “Macron Law”, a controversial reform bill allowing, among other things, longer retail hours on Sunday.

Merkel said on Monday that Franco-German cooperation was a “cornerstone” of German foreign policy, adding that Germany did not need to change its economic course in response to Macron’s election victory.

Le Pen thanked the 11 million voters who supported her and vowed to “lead the fight” in parliamentary elections next month and promised a “profound transformation” of the National Front. On Sunday night she took to a stage in Paris and called on “all patriots” to join her in opposition to the new president.

In an interview with Army Radio, Le Gal said she thought Macron would be “very friendly” toward Israel, but did not elaborate on what the focus in relations between the two countries would be during Macron’s presidency.

He added: “He wants France to stay in the European Union and continue its open borders policy that has brought thousands of Muslim immigrants to France”. She performed on Sunday significantly better than her father and former National Front leader, Jean Marie, who was crushed in 2002 when he reached the final round of that year’s presidential election against Chirac.

The PM told reporters she expects the new government will sit down with incoming French President Emmanuel Macron to talk about the crucial agreement.

Macron’s victory is not a surprise as polls routinely showed him far ahead of Le Pen.

Macron, 39, founded his centrist En Marche (On The Move) movement of mostly political neophytes just a year ago on a promise to inject new blood into France’s discredited political class. He will face a stern test in trying to do so as he will likely struggle to put together a majority in parliament for his year-old party in parliamentary elections next month.

EURO REACTION: After initially rallying to six-month highs above $1.10 in the wake of the Macron result, the euro faltered and was trading 0.5 percent lower at $1.0945.

One of Macron’s first acts will be to name a prime minister – a choice that will show whether he leans more to the left or the right.

Other Asian stock markets were also higher, cheered by the results. “The Prime Minister and President-elect Macron looked forward to meeting and holding discussions at the upcoming North Atlantic Treaty Organisation and G7 Summits”, the spokesperson added.

Donald Tusk, the president of the European Council, also tweeted his congratulations.

“Congratulations, @EmmanuelMacron. Your victory is a victory for a strong and united Europe and for French-German friendship”, said Chancellor Angela Merkel’s spokesman.

The former investment banker’s victory over Le Pen has been hailed as the strongest sign that populism may be peaking in Europe after setbacks for nationalists in the Netherlands and Austria.