A comfortable victory for independent candidate Emmanuel Macron.
Several exit polls have suggested that Macron will take somewhere between 65.1% to 34.9% of the vote over his opponent, Front National's Marine Le Pen.
In great contrast to Le Pen's protectionist and hardline anti-immigration policy, Macron is a staunchly pro-EU globalist who previously served as Economics Minister during the presidency of Socialist Francois Hollande, before stepping down from the position.
Hollande, the outgoing French President, released a statement which reads: “His large victory confirms that a very large majority of our citizens wanted to assemble around the values of the Republic and mark their attachment to the European Union as well as to the openness of France in the world.”
Jean-Claude Juncker, president of the European Commission, has tweeted his congratulations to Macron, adding that he is "happy that the French have chosen a European future."
Elsewhere, Theresa May "warmly congratulates" Macron on his victory in the French presidential race, Downing Street says.
https://twitter.com/JunckerEU/status/861283336924385280
Meanwhile, Donald Tusk, President of the European Council, posted: “Congratulations . Congratulations to French people for choosing Liberty, Equality and Fraternity over tyranny of fake news.”
Frances's rejection of the far right follows similar votes in Austria and the Netherlands.
https://twitter.com/IpsosFrance/status/861279467481825280
https://twitter.com/PA/status/861282952407375873
https://twitter.com/AP/status/861282141170270218
