France’s first lady Brigitte Macron will be the subject of a biopic series.
Production company Gaumont said the six-part series, entitled Brigitte, a Free Woman, would trace the “storybook journey” of Emmanuel Macron’s wife.
The series will start with the first meeting of the couple, one of the series writers said.
Brigitte Macron first met her now-husband when she was a teacher at his secondary school.
The couple ended up marrying in 2007, when Emmanuel Macron was 29 and Brigitte was 54.
Brigitte Macron kept teaching for a time but quit her job in 2015 when her husband began getting involved in politics. He was elected president in 2017.
Image source Wikimedia
The French press describes the First Lady as one of only a handful of people whose judgement the president always calls on.
The new TV series will be written by French writers Bénédicte Charles and Olivier Pouponneau, Gaumont said.
Asked about the new production of Brigitte Macron’s life, an anonymous source close to the first lady told AFP news agency: “We are not associated with this project which we learnt about today in the press.”
The cast of the series is yet to be announced.
Gaumont is one of France’s leading TV production companies. It is responsible for the hit TV series Lupin.
France’s President Emmanuel Macron has sparked outrage after using divisive, vulgar language to say he wanted to make life difficult for unvaccinated people.
He told Le Parisien newspaper: “I really want to piss them off, and we’ll carry on doing this – to the end.”
Three months ahead of a presidential election, opponents of President Macron said his words were unworthy of a president.
French lawmakers halted debate on a law barring the unvaccinated from much of public life.
The session in the National Assembly was brought to a standstill for a second night running on January 4 as opposition delegates complained about the president’s language, with one leading figure describing it as “unworthy, irresponsible and premeditated”.
The legislation is expected to be approved in a vote this week, but it has angered vaccine opponents.
Image source: Wikimedia Commons
Mandatory vaccinations are being introduced in several European countries, with Austria leading the way for over-14s from next month and Germany planning a similar move for adults. Italy’s government was on January 5 considering a compulsory vaccine pass for at least anyone over 60.
In his interview with Le Parisien on January 4, President Macron used the vulgar term emmerder to say how he wanted to stir up the unvaccinated. He would not “vaccinate by force” the remaining five million who had not had a dose, but hoped to encourage people to get the vaccines by “limiting as much as possible their access to activities in social life”.
He said: “I won’t send [unvaccinated people] to prison.
“So we need to tell them, from January 15, you will no longer be able to go to the restaurant. You will no longer be able to go for a coffee, you will no longer be able to go to the theatre. You will no longer be able to go to the cinema.”
Ahead of a presidential election campaign in which Emmanuel Macron is yet to announce his intention to run, his remarks prompted a strong reaction from opposition figures.
Right-wing Republicans candidate Valérie Pécresse said she was outraged that the president had accused unvaccinated people of not being citizens.
“You have to accept them as they are – lead them, bring them together and not insult them,” she told CNews.
Party colleague Bruno Retailleau said pointedly: “Emmanuel Macron says he has learned to love the French, but it seems he especially likes to despise them.”
Far-right presidential candidate Marine Le Pen tweeted: “A president shouldn’t say that… Emmanuel Macron is unworthy of his office.”
Meanwhile, leftist politician Jean-Luc Mélenchon described the remarks as an astonishing confession: “It’s clear, the vaccination pass is a collective punishment against individual freedom.”
The latest opinion gave President Macron the edge over his rivals on January 5, with 27% of votes in the first round on April 10, ahead of Valérie Pécresse and Marine Le Pen both on 16%. The poll for Le Figaro/LCI also gave him a run-off victory, with the closest margin of 55%-45% with the Republican candidate.
Emmanuel Macron’s choice of language is not unprecedented for a French leader.
The same word was used by Georges Pompidou in 1966 when he said it was time to stop annoying the French. Like him, Emmanuel Macron said his role was not to irritate the French, but the unvaccinated was a different story.
PM Jean Castex told parliament later that people everywhere were saying the same as the president. “Our citizens have a sense of exasperation seeing a whole kind of restrictions imposed while others choose to break free of them.”
France has one of the highest Covid vaccination rates in the EU, with more than 90% of the adult population double-jabbed.
For months France has asked people to show either proof of vaccination or a negative Covid test to access many public venues.
However, the French government wants to remove the option to show a negative test in response to record increases in infections, driven by the highly contagious Omicron and Delta variants of Covid.
On January 5, France reported 332,252 new daily Covid cases – the highest number of daily infections recorded in the country since the start of the pandemic.
France has imposed a third national lockdown as the country battles a surge in cases of Covid-19 that threatens to overwhelm its hospitals.
All schools and non-essential shops will shut for four weeks, and a curfew will be in place from 19:00 to 06:00.
On April 2, the number of seriously ill Covid-19 patients in ICU increased by 145 – the biggest jump in five months.
President Emmanuel Macron has promised more hospital beds for Covid patients.
France is currently battling a peak of about 5,000 Covid patients in ICUs. On April 2, the country recorded 46,677 new cases and 304 deaths.
As well as the restrictions that came into force on April 3, from April 6 people will also need a valid reason to travel more than 6 miles from their homes.
President Macron had hoped to keep France’s coronavirus cases under control without having to impose another lockdown.
However, France has struggled with an EU-wide delay in the vaccine rollout, as well as several new strains of the virus.
In Germany, President Frank-Walter Steinmeier called on people to play their part and get vaccinated.
Speaking in a TV address to the nation on April 3, he said Germany was in the middle of a third wave and that it faced more restrictions.
The German also admitted that mistakes had been made – specifically in testing and in the vaccine rollout – and talked about there being a “crisis of trust” in the state.
Last month, German officials announced that the country would be placed in a strict Easter lockdown – only to reverse the decision just days later.
Chancellor Angela Merkel called the plan for a lockdown from April 1 to 5 a “mistake”, and said she took “ultimate responsibility” for the U-turn.
Italy also entered a strict three-day lockdown on April 3 in order to try to prevent a surge in Covid-19 cases over the Easter weekend.
All regions are now in the “red zone” – the highest tier of restrictions – as the country records about 20,000 new cases a day.
Non-essential movement is banned, but people are allowed to have an Easter meal in their homes with two others. Churches are also open, but worshippers are being told to attend services within their regions.
On April 4, for the second year, Pope Francis will deliver his Easter message to an empty St Peter’s Square.
Poland’s President Andrzej Duda contracted the virus in October and went into self-isolation.
Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune has spent two months in hospital in Germany after catching the disease in October – last week he appeared in video for the first time since testing positive, saying he hopes to return to Algeria soon.
Guatemalan President Alejandro Giammattei tested positive in September – despite calling himself “high-risk” he did not appear to suffer a severe case.
President of Brazil, Jair Bolsonaro,tested positive in July and spent more than two weeks quarantining in his residence.
In June, the outgoing President of Burundi, Pierre Nkurunziza, died of an illness suspected by many to be Covid-19.
Russia’s PM Mikhail Mishustin contracted the virus in April and was admitted to hospital with moderate to severe symptoms.
UK PM Boris Johnson tested positive in March – he spent three nights in intensive care in a London hospital, later saying he owed the health workers there his life.
French President Emmanuel Macron has been diagnosed with Covid-19 after developing symptoms.
Emmanuel Macron, 42, will now self-isolate for seven days, the Elysée Palace said in a statement.
The president “is still in charge” of running the country and will work remotely, said an official.
EU chief Charles Michel and Spanish PM Pedro Sánchez are both self-isolating after coming into contact with President Macron on December 14.
France this week imposed an overnight curfew to help deal with soaring cases there.
There have been 2 million confirmed cases in France since the coronavirus epidemic began, with more than 59,400 deaths, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.
The Elysée Palace said in a statement on December 17: “The President of the Republic has been diagnosed positive for Covid-19 today.”
The diagnosis was made following a “test performed at the onset of the first symptoms”.
It is not yet known how President Macron caught the virus but his office said it was identifying any close contacts he has made in recent days.
PM Jean Castex, 55, and Parliament Speaker Richard Ferrand, 58, are both self-isolating, their offices confirmed.
Jean Castex, who is not showing any symptoms, was due to introduce the government’s Covid vaccination policy in the Senate on December 17 – now Health Minister Olivier Véran is doing it instead.
Spain’s PM Pedro Sánchez, 48, and EU chief Charles Michel, 44, are both self-isolating after meeting the French president for lunch on December 14.
The Spanish prime minister’s office said he would be tested.
Emmanuel Macron’s wife Brigitte, who is 67, is also self-isolating, but has no symptoms.
President Macron is one of several world leaders who have contracted the respiratory disease since the pandemic began. Most notably, President Donald Trump tested positive in October, which led to him spending three days in hospital.
UK’s PM Boris Johnson also caught the virus and ended up in intensive care during the country’s first wave in March.
Earlier this week, France eased national lockdown restrictions imposed to tackle its second wave of the pandemic. However, infection rates still remain high and a daily 20:00-06:00 curfew was imposed. The new measures have forced restaurants, cafes, theatres and cinemas to close.
On December 16, France registered more than 17,700 new cases.
Emmanuel Macron has not tested positive for the virus before, sources have told Le Figaro.
The news website said: “His wife, the first lady Brigitte Macron, had already been a contact person [for Covid-19] a few months before but the presidential couple had until now managed to avoid contracting the virus.”
A presidential spokeswoman confirmed that all of Emmanuel Macron’s upcoming trips, including a visit to Lebanon on December 22, have been canceled.
France’s President Emmanuel Macron has called the beheading of a teacher in a north-western suburb of Paris an “Islamist terrorist attack”.
The teacher of history and geography is said to have shown controversial cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad to his pupils. The attacker was shot dead by police.
President Macron said the as yet unnamed victim was murdered because he “taught freedom of expression”.
“They won’t win… We will act,” the president said from the scene.
The attack occurred on October 15, at about 17:00 local time, near a school. Anti-terror prosecutors are investigating.
The knife-wielding attacker was shot as officers tried to arrest him in the aftermath of the attack. Police have not released any personal details about him, although French media report he was an 18-year-old man of Chechen origin who was born in Moscow.
A trial is currently under way in Paris over a 2015 Islamist assault on the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, which was targeted for publishing the cartoons.
Three weeks ago, a man attacked and wounded two people outside Charlie Hebdo‘s former offices.
A man wielding a large knife attacked the teacher in a street in the town of Conflans-Sainte-Honorine, cutting off his head. A police source said that witnesses had heard the attacker shout “Allahu Akbar”, or “God is Greatest”, the Reuters reported.
The attacker then ran off, but local police alerted by the public were quickly at the scene.
The officers confronted the man in the nearby district of Éragny.
When they shouted at him to give himself up, he is said to have threatened them. The officers shot him and he died a short time later.
The scene is now sealed off, as the investigation continues.
Nine people, including a minor, have been arrested, judicial sources have told French media. They reportedly include relatives of the attacker and parents of a child at the school where the teacher worked.
According to Le Monde newspaper, the victim had been talking in class about freedom of expression in connection with the Muhammad cartoons, which caused uproar among some Muslims when Charlie Hebdo published them.
He had reportedly advised Muslim students to leave the room if they thought they might be offended.
Earlier this month, some Muslim parents complained to the school about the teacher’s decision to use one or more of the cartoons as part of a discussion about the Charlie Hebdo trial, French media report.
Reacting to the attack, Charlie Hebdo tweeted: “Intolerance just reached a new threshold and seems to stop at nothing to impose terror in our country.”
France has seen a wave of Islamist violence since the 2015 attack on Charlie Hebdo that left 12 people dead, including famous cartoonists.
On August 9, world leaders will hold talks to raise aid for Beirut, five days after the massive explosion which devastated the Lebanese capital.
The virtual conference – set up by France and the United Nations – starts at 14:00 Lebanon time.
President Donald Trump has said he plans to join the call.
Officials estimate the explosion at the warehouse, which stored 2,000 tonnes of ammonium nitrate, caused up to $15 billion in damage.
The blast left at least 158 people dead, 5,000 injured and 300,000 homeless.
On August 8, thousands of people protested in Beirut. Police fired tear gas at stone-throwing protesters and some demonstrators storming government ministries.
In a TV address, Lebanese PM Hassan Diab said he would ask for early elections as a way out of the crisis. The issue will be discussed in cabinet on August 10.
Lebanon was already mired in a deep economic crisis and struggling to tackle the coronavirus pandemic before the explosion tore through Beirut.
An anti-government protest movement erupted last October, fuelled by the financial situation and a collapsing currency.
France’s President Emmanuel Macron visited Beirut on August 6, and announced he wanted to co-ordinate international aid for Lebanon.
A statement from France’s presidential palace says August 9 conference “will aim to mobilize Lebanon’s main international partners and to organize and co-ordinate emergency support from the international community”.
Representatives from EU member states, the UK, Russia, China, Egypt and Jordan will all take part, with many others invited to attend.
In a series of tweets, President Trump said he had discussed the “catastrophic event” in Beirut with President Macron and would himself join the call.
He tweeted: “We will be having a conference call on Sunday with President Macron, leaders of Lebanon, and leaders from various other parts of the world. Everyone wants to help!”
A number of countries have already pledged millions of dollars worth of aid and sent ships, health workers and materiel to assist Beirut.
However, UN agencies have called for more help and warned about the massive challenge ahead. Many homes are without water or electricity, there are growing worries about food shortages, and cases of Covid-19 are spiking in the country – an additional challenge for hospitals which are already overwhelmed.
President Donald Trump and his French
counterpart, Emmanuel Macron, have set out opposing views ahead of a NATO
summit in London.
In an occasionally tense press conference, Donald Trump and Emmanuel Macron
sparred over NATO’s role, Turkey, and ISIS.
President Trump had described Emmanuel Macron’s comments about NATO as
“nasty”, but the French president said he stood by his words.
World leaders gathered in London to mark the Western military alliance’s
70th anniversary.
The NATO summit has already been marked by strained relations between Turkey
and other member states.
Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said he will oppose NATO’s plan
for the defense of the Baltic region if it does not back Turkey over its fight
against Kurdish groups it considers terrorists.
On December 3, Emmanuel Macron and Recep Tayyip Erdogan met in Downing
Street in a four-way meeting that also included German Chancellor Angela Merkel
and the host, UK PM Boris Johnson.
Ties between President Trump and Emmanuel Macron were already strained amid
a trade dispute, and after the French president described NATO as “brain
dead” last month because, he said, the US commitment to the alliance was
fading.
On December 3, President Trump hit back by saying Emmanuel Macron had been
“very disrespectful”, adding that France had “a very high
unemployment rate” and “nobody needs NATO more than France”.
At a joint press conference with Emmanuel Macron later, President Trump was
less combative, stressing that the two countries had “done a lot of good
things together”. Emmanuel Macron, meanwhile, said he stood by his
comments.
The two sides then clashed over foreign ISIS fighters who were captured in
Syria.
President Trump jokingly offered them to France, saying: “Would you like some nice [ISIS] fighters? You can take everyone
you want.”
Sounding stern, Emmanuel Macron said “Let’s be serious” and that
ISIS fighters from Europe were “a tiny minority”, and that the
“number one priority” was to get rid of the terrorist group.
President Trump then retorted: “This
is why he is a great politician because that was one of the greater non-answers
I have ever heard, and that’s OK.”
He also criticized NATO countries who were paying less than the NATO
guidelines of at least 2% of GDP towards the alliance.
President Trump said he did not want countries to be “delinquent” and pay less than their share, adding: “Maybe I’ll deal with them from a trade standpoint.”
Emmanuel Macron said France – which currently spends 1.84% of its GDP on
defense – would reach the minimum, and acknowledged that the US had
“overinvested” in NATO for several decades.
However, he added that there were other pressing issues to discuss.
The two leaders also discussed Turkey’s decision to buy a Russian S-400
missile system.
President Trump said they were “looking at” whether to impose
sanctions, while Emmanuel Macron asked: “How
is it possible to be a member of the alliance… and buy things from
Russia?”
The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) have been key allies of the
US-led coalition against ISIS in Syria. However, Turkey views a section of the
group – the YPG – as terrorists.
Ahead of his departure for London, Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Turkey would not approve a plan to defend Poland, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia in the event of a Russian attack unless NATO recognized the Kurdish YPG militia as terrorists.
Iran’s foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif made
a surprise visit to the G7 summit in France on August 25.
He attended side-line talks in the seaside town of Biarritz where world
leaders, including President Donald Trump, have gathered.
Reports suggest the US delegation was surprised by Mohammad Javad Zarif’s
visit, which comes at a time of high tension with Iran.
The Iranian official said on Twitter that he held “constructive”
talks with his French counterpart and President Emmanuel Macron, adding he gave
a joint briefing to German and British officials.
Mohammad Javad Zarif also met President Emmanuel Macron in Paris on August
23 on the eve of the summit.
Relations between Iran and the US have deteriorated since Washington
withdrew from a 2015 deal to limit Iran’s nuclear activities in 2018.
Five other nations – including France – remain committed to the deal, but
Iran has started to ratchet up its nuclear activity in response to the US
reinstating and tightening economic sanctions against them.
President Macron has taken an active role in trying to
diffuse tensions and save the accord – but Iran’s relations with the West have
strained further in recent months over a series of confrontations and oil
tanker seizures in and around the Gulf.
Mohammad Javad Zarif was himself singled out for US sanctions last month,
with US officials accusing him of implementing “the reckless agenda”
of Iran’s leader.
Reports about the circumstances of his visit on Sunday are conflicting.
French officials told reporters the foreign minister was invited in agreement
with the US delegation, but White House officials have suggested they were
taken by surprise.
They were also conflicting comments by President Macron and President Trump
during the weekend as to whether G7 leaders had agreed a joint approach to
easing tensions with Tehran.
On August 25, President Trump appeared to dismiss French mediation efforts.
He said: “We’ll do our own
outreach, but, you know, I can’t stop people from talking. If they want to
talk, they can talk.”
Leaders from the G7 – Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the
US – have been attending the group’s 45th summit all weekend.
A range of topics, including the nuclear deal and Brexit, have been on the talks agenda.
Violence broke out in Paris during a fourth consecutive weekend of Yellow Vest protests on December 8.
French riot police used tear gas and rubber bullets. Nearly 90,000 officers had been deployed,including 8,000 in Paris where 12 armored vehicles were also used.
More than 1,700 people were arrested, but the violence was not on the same level as a week earlier.
According to the interior ministry, an estimated 125,000 people took part in marches across the country protesting against fuel tax rises and high living costs. Around 10,000 people demonstrated inParis, where the scenes were the most destructive. Windows were smashed, carswere burned and stores were looted.
Video footage showed protesters hitby rubber bullets – including in the face. At least three members of the press were among those hit.
Prime Minister Édouard Philippe hasvowed to “restore national unity” and said that discussions with peaceful protesters “must continue”.
He added: “No tax should jeopardize our national unity. We must now rebuild
that national unity through dialogue, through work, and by coming
together.”
The prime minister said President Emmanuel Macron – who many protesters want to stand down – would soon “putforward measures to foster this dialogue”.
Interior Minister ChristopheCastaner praised police – who had been deployed in force – for containing much of the unrest.
In a tweet, President Macron thanked the security forces for their “courage and exceptional professionalism”.
Dramatic Yellow Vest protests took place over several hours in the French capital, Paris.
Protesters have scaled the Arc de Triomphe, as clashes with riot police continued during a third weekend of rallies.
Riot police fired tear gas, stun grenades and water cannon on the Champs-Elysées, while masked protesters hurled projectiles and set buildings on fire.
At least 110 people were injured, including 17 members of the security forces, and 270 arrests were made.
One building was set on fire on a major avenue near the Arc de Triomphe and protesters stole an assault rifle from a police vehicle in the center of Paris.
Stores and subway stations were closed as a result of the violence. However, protesters insisted the movement was peaceful.
Protests over fuel tax have grown into general anger at higher living costs.
President Emmanuel Macron says his fuel policies are needed to combat global warming.
One person was in a critical condition after protesters pulled down an iron gate at the Tuileries Garden near the Louvre museum, which fell on several people.
An assault rifle was also stolen from a police vehicle although it was unclear if it was loaded, AFP quotes a police source as saying.
According to the French interior ministry, at least 75,000 people had turned out across France for the latest “gilets jaunes” (yellow vests) rallies – so called because the protesters donned the high-visible vest required to be carried in every vehicle by law.
Nearly 190 fires were put out and six buildings were set ablaze, the interior ministry said.
Responding to the day’s events from the G20 summit in Buenos Aires, Argentina, President Macron said the protests “had absolutely nothing to do with a peaceful demonstration of a legitimate unhappiness or discontent.”
President Macron said those responsible did not want change, but instead intended to “wreak chaos”.
Earlier this week, he tried to strike a conciliatory tone, saying he was open to ideas about how the fuel tax could be applied.
However, President Macron’s speech does not appear to have gone far enough in assuaging people of the view that he is out of touch with ordinary people.
Paris riot police have used tear gas and water cannon to disperse protesters demonstrating for a second weekend against rising fuel prices.
Violence erupted on Paris’ best-known avenue, the Champs-Elysées, as protesters tried to get through a security cordon around sensitive sites.
About 5,000 “yellow vest” protesters had converged on the Champs-Elysées. At least 13 people were arrested after clashing with police.
Organizers billed the latest protests as “act two” in their rolling campaign.
Named after their distinctive high-visibility attire, the “yellow vest” protesters oppose an increase in fuel duty on diesel. All drivers in France have to carry the jackets in their cars as part of safety equipment for use in a breakdown.
Along with the familiar red reflective triangle which must be placed behind a broken-down vehicle on the side of a road, the high-visibility jacket – or “gilet jaune” – must be worn by the driver outside the car.
Failure to wear the jacket after a breakdown or accident can result in a €135 ($153) fine under a law introduced in 2008.
Synonymous with driving, the yellow vests have now morphed into the uniform of the movement against higher fuel costs.
Demonstrators on the Champs-Elysées came up against metal barriers and a police-enforced perimeter designed to stop them reaching key buildings such as the prime minister’s official residence.
Some demonstrators ripped up paving stones and threw firecrackers at police while shouting slogans calling for President Emmanuel Macron to resign.
Interior Minister Christophe Castaner accused the demonstrators of being influenced by the leader of the far-right National Rally party, Marine Le Pen. However, she accused him, on Twitter, of dishonesty.
Christophe Castaner put the number of people taking part across France at 23,000 by 11AM local time – much less than the first day of Yellow Jacket protests, which drew some 280,000 people a week ago.
The price of diesel, the most commonly used fuel in French cars, has risen by around 23% over the past 12 months to an average of €1.51 ($1.71) per liter, its highest point since the early 2000s.
World oil prices did rise before falling back again but the Macron government raised its hydrocarbon tax this year by 7.6 cents per liter on diesel and 3.9 cents on petrol, as part of a campaign for cleaner cars and fuel.
The decision to impose a further increase of 6.5 cents on diesel and 2.9 cents on petrol on January 1, 2019, was seen as the final straw.
President Emmanuel Macron has blamed world oil prices for three-quarters of the price rise. He also said more tax on fossil fuels was needed to fund renewable energy investments.
One female protester has died and more than 200 were injured as about 280,000 people took to the streets of France, angry at rising fuel prices.
The “yellow vests”, so-called after the high-visibility jackets they are required to carry in their cars, blocked highways and roundabouts.
They accuse President Emmanuel Macron of abandoning “the little people”.
The protester who died was struck after a driver surrounded by demonstrators panicked and accelerated.
President Macron has not so far commented on the protests, some of which have seen demonstrators call for him to resign.
However, he admitted earlier in the week that he had not “really managed to reconcile the French people with their leaders”.
Nonetheless, President Macron accused his political opponents of hijacking the movement in order to block his reform program.
Some 280,000 people took part in protests across France, the interior ministry said in its latest update.
According to the interior ministry, 227 people were injured during the day, seven seriously, with 52 people arrested.
Most of the protests have been taking place without incident although several of the injuries came when drivers tried to force their way through protesters.
The 63-year-old woman was killed in the south-eastern Savoy region when a driver who was taking her daughter to hospital panicked at being blocked by about 50 demonstrators, who were striking the roof of her vehicle, and drove into them.
The female driver has been taken into police custody in a state of shock.
In Paris protesters approaching the Élysée Palace, President Macron’s official residence, were repelled with tear gas.
The price of diesel, the most commonly used fuel in French cars, has risen by around 23% over the past 12 months to an average of €1.51 ($1.71) per liter, its highest point since the early 2000s, AFP reports.
World oil prices did rise before falling back again but the Macron government raised its hydrocarbon tax this year by 7.6 cents per liter on diesel and 3.9 cents on petrol, as part of a campaign for cleaner cars and fuel.
The decision to impose a further increase of 6.5 cents on diesel and 2.9 cents on petrol on 1 January 2019 was seen as the final straw.
Speaking on November 14, President Macron blamed world oil prices for three-quarters of the price rise. He also said more tax on fossil fuels was needed to fund renewable energy investments.
The Yellow Vests movement has broad support. Nearly three-quarters of respondents to a poll by the Elabe institute backed the Yellow Vests and 70% wanted the government to reverse the fuel tax hikes.
More than half of French people who voted for Emmanuel Macron support the protests, Elabe’s Vincent Thibault told AFP.
They have certainly tried to tap into it. Far-right leader Marine Le Pen, who was defeated by Emmanuel Macron in the second round of the presidential election, has been encouraging it on Twitter.
Marine Le Pen tweeted: “The government shouldn’t be afraid of French people who come to express their revolt and do it in a peaceful fashion.”
On November 14, the French government announced action to help poor families pay their energy and transport bills.
PM Edouard Philippe announced that 5.6 million households would receive energy subsidies. Currently 3.6 million receive them.
A state scrap page bonus on polluting vehicles would also be doubled for France’s poorest families, he said, and fuel tax credits would be brought in for people who depend on their cars for work.
Protesters have mocked President Macron relentlessly as “Micron” or “Macaron” (Macaroon) or simply Manu, the short form of Emmanuel, which he famously scolded a student for using.
Commemorations took place around the world on November 11 to mark the centenary of the Armistice that ended WWI.
President Donald Trump and Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, were among those who attended a service beneath the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, France.
About 70 world leaders gathered in Paris on November 11 for remembrance events.
French President Emmanuel Macron led the main event of the centenary – a somber commemoration at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, a memorial to France’s fallen under the Arc de Triomphe in Paris.
President Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel attended a peace conference – the Paris Peace Forum – with leaders including Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkey’s Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
On November 10, Emmanuel Macron and Angela Merkel visited the town of Compiègne in northern France. They signed a book of remembrance in a railway carriage identical to the one in which the 1918 Armistice was sealed.
President Donald Trump caused controversy by canceling a trip to a cemetery for the war dead because of bad weather.
A group of around 50 activist organizations held a demonstration in Paris in protest against President Trump’s visit.
France’s President Emmanuel Macron met President Donald Trump in Washington to discuss a new agreement on Iran’s nuclear program.
After talks, President Trump, who is skeptical of an accord that was struck in 2015, spoke about “doing a much bigger, maybe, deal”.
President Macron said a new pact must cover Iran’s ballistic missile program and its role in the Middle East.
Iran warned of “severe consequences” if the US withdraws from the deal.
In 2015, Iran agreed to mothball its nuclear program in return for an easing of economic sanctions on Iran.
President Trump has been threatening to reject an extension of the Obama-era nuclear pact reached between Tehran and world powers by a May 12 deadline.
President Macron had been lobbying Donald Trump to stick with the deal, saying there was no better option.
Germany’s Chancellor Angela Merkel is due to visit the US on April 27 to make a last-minute bid to dissuade President Trump from potentially torpedoing the agreement.
Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif was quoted as saying that Tehran would “most likely” abandon the accord if the US pulled out.
Referring to the 2015 accord which he described as “insane”, President Trump said: “They should have made a deal that covered Yemen, that covered Syria, that covered other parts of the Middle East.”
Meanwhile, Emmanuel Macron agreed that Tehran’s influence in the region must be part of negotiations.
The French president also stressed that – as well as controlling Iran’s nuclear program for the next decade as envisaged by the current agreement – a fresh deal would need to cover its nuclear activities longer-term, as well as its ballistic missile program.
Emmanuel Macron talked about working with President Trump to build a “new framework” in the Middle East – and especially in Syria.
He said he did not know whether President Trump would extend the May 12 deadline, adding: “I can say that we have had very frank discussions on that, just the two of us.”
President Trump earlier warned Iran against resuming its nuclear program.
“They’re not going to be restarting anything. They restart it they’re going to have big problems, bigger than they’ve ever had before,”
On April 23, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani threatened “severe consequences” if the US withdrew from the deal.
Meanwhile, Javad Zarif said just hours before the Trump-Macron summit that a probable response would be to restart the enrichment of uranium – a key bomb-making ingredient.
Iran says its nuclear program is solely for peaceful civilian purposes.
France’s President Emmanuel Macron has made a surprise visit to Saudi Arabia amid an escalating crisis between the kingdom and Lebanon.
The president’s trip comes days after Lebanese Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri resigned while in Riyadh, saying he feared for his life.
Meanwhile, foes Saudi Arabia and Iran have accused each other of fuelling instability in Lebanon and the wider region.
Emmanuel Macron and Saudi officials also discussed the crisis in Yemen, where Riyadh is leading a war against rebels.
France has historical ties with Lebanon, as its former colonial power before it gained independence during World War Two.
President Macron was in the UAE on November 9 to open the Louvre Abu Dhabi, a spin-off of the famous Paris art museum.
Ahead of his two-hour visit to Riyadh, Emmanuel Macron said all Lebanese officials should live freely, “which means having a very demanding stance on those who could threaten any leader”.
No details of the alleged plot against Saad al-Hariri have been made public.
Uncertainty surrounds Saad al-Hariri’s circumstances, amid rumors he was being held in Riyadh.
President Macron said on November 9 he had had informal contact with Saad al-Hariri, without giving details, while the French foreign minister said France believed Saad al-Hariri was able to move freely.
On November 5, Saad al-Hariri said in a TV broadcast that he was resigning because of the unspecified threat to his life.
In the video statement, Saad al-Hariri also attacked Hezbollah, which is politically and militarily powerful in Lebanon, and Iran.
There are fears Lebanon could become embroiled in a wider regional confrontation between major Sunni power Saudi Arabia and Shia-dominated Iran.
President Macron is a keen supporter of the 2015 Iranian nuclear deal, which both the Saudis and the Trump administration have heavily criticized.
Before going to Saudi Arabia, Emmanuel Macron said that he had heard “very harsh opinions” on Iran from Saudi Arabia, which did not match his own view.
“It is important to speak with everyone,” the president added.
However, an official communiqué from his office following the visit did not say Iran was among the matters discussed, Le Monde reported.
Tensions between Saudi Arabia, Iran and Lebanon have soared since Saad al-Hariri announced his resignation.
On November 9, Saudi Arabia and its Gulf allies told their citizens in Lebanon to leave the country immediately. The move came after Saudi Arabia accused Iran of “direct military aggression”, saying it supplied a missile which it says was fired by Hezbollah at Riyadh from Yemen on November 5.
Iran has dismissed Saudi Arabia’s allegations as “false and dangerous”.
La Republique en Marche, the party of French President Emmanuel Macron, has won a clear parliamentary majority, weeks after his own presidential victory.
The winning margin is lower than some expected, with turnout down from 2012.
La Republique en Marche was formed just over a year ago, and half of its candidates have little or no political experience.
The result has swept aside all of the mainstream parties and gives President Macron a strong mandate in parliament to pursue his pro-EU, business-friendly reform plans.
The second round of the parliamentary election was marked by weak voter turnout, estimated to be a record low of about 42%, down sharply on five years ago.
Correspondents say opponents of the 39-year-old president may simply have not bothered to turn out.
PM Edouard Philippe acknowledged the low turnout, promising his party would act for France as a whole.
The comfortable majority of La République en Marche (Republic on the Move or LREM) and MoDem – surpassing the 289-seat threshold required to control the National Assembly – will be a big blow to traditional parties on both the left and right.
The conservative Republicans and their allies could form a large opposition block, with 125-131 seats. But this figure is down from 200 seats in the last parliament.
The Socialists, who were in power for the past five years, alongside their partners, looked set to get only 41-49 seats – their lowest tally ever.
Socialist leader Jean-Claude Cambadélis announced his retirement from the post, and urged the left “to change everything, its form and its substance, its ideas and its organization”.
Marine Le Pen’s National Front (FN) party won eight seats, but it had set its sights on 15.
The 48-year-old leader has won a seat in parliament for the first time, representing Henin-Beaumont, a depressed former mining town in the north. However, two of her top aides, including her deputy leader, were eliminated.
Marine Le Pen said President Macron may have got a large parliamentary majority, but “he must know that his ideas are not of the majority in the country and that the French will not support a project that weakens our nation”.
French voters go to polls in the second round of parliamentary elections on June 18, in a run-off between the top candidates from June 11 first round.
President Emmanuel Macron, 39, is seeking to obtain a strong mandate in parliament to help him pursue his reform plans.
His La République en Marche (Republic on the Move or LREM) with its MoDem allies is expected to win most seats.
Traditional parties are urging voters to back Emmanuel Macron’s rivals to stop a monopolization of power.
Emmanuel Macron formed his party just over a year ago, and half of its candidates have little or no political experience.
They include a retired bullfighter, a Rwandan refugee and a mathematician.
Image source Flickr
A party needs 289 seats to control the 577-seat National Assembly. LREM is predicted to win more than 400.
In the first round, Emmanuel Macron’s LREM and MoDem won 32.3% of the vote.
The center-right Republicans had 21.5%, while Marine Le Pen’s National Front (FN) had 13.2%, followed by the far-left La France Insoumise (France Unbowed) on just over 11%.
The Socialists, previously France’s ruling party, and their allies won just 9.5%.
However, the turnout was low, despite claims that President Emmanuel Macron had re-energized the voting public.
Analysts said it reflected a sense of resignation among his opponents.
Only four seats were settled in the first round.
The second round will see the two top-placed contenders for each seat facing each other, along with any other candidate who won the support of at least 12.5% of registered voters in the district.
The president needs a majority to push through the changes that he promised in his campaign, which include budget savings of €60 billion ($65 billion) in the next five years, cutting the number of public servants by 120,000, reforming the labor market and generous state pension schemes, bringing them into line with private schemes.
Emmanuel Macron will also become the first president from outside the two traditional main parties since the modern republic’s foundation in 1958.
He said that a new page was being turned in French history.
Emmanuel Macron said he had heard “the rage, anxiety and doubt that a lot of you have expressed” and vowed to spend his five years in office “fighting the forces of division that undermine France”.
He said he would “guarantee the unity of the nation and… defend and protect Europe”.
Image source Wikimedia
Thousands of Emmanuel Macron’s supporters gathered to celebrate outside the Louvre in central Paris. Emmanuel Macron has now arrived to join them.
Security remains tight in Paris and there were reports of police firing tear gas at several hundred anti-capitalist protesters near the Ménilmontant metro in the 20th arrondissement.
The Macron team said that the new president had had a “cordial” telephone conversation with Marine Le Pen.
In a speech Marine Le Pen thanked the 11 million people who had voted for her. She said the election had shown a division between “patriots and globalists” and called for the emergence of a new political force.
Marine Le Pen said her National Front party needed to renew itself and that she would start the “deep transformation of our movement”, vowing to lead it into upcoming parliamentary elections.
She also said she had wished Emmanuel Macron success in tackling the “huge challenges” facing him.
President François Hollande congratulated Emmanuel Macron and said the result showed the French people wanted to unite around the “values of the republic”.
Initial figures suggested the turnout was lower than the past two elections.
Polls opened in France, where voters are choosing their next president after an unpredictable campaign that has divided the country.
The second round contest pits centrist Emmanuel Macron, a 39-year-old former investment banker, against the 48-year-old far-right nationalist Marine Le Pen.
Citizens in some overseas territories and many French expats abroad have begun voting.
The polls opened in metropolitan France at 08:00 local time on May 7 and close at 19:00.
Polling stations will remain open in some big cities until 20:00 local time, with early estimates of the result due to be reported immediately after they close.
The two candidates, who topped a field of 11 presidential hopefuls in the first round election on April 23, have offered voters starkly different visions of France.
Emmanuel Macron, a liberal centrist, is pro-business and a strong supporter of the EU, while Marine Le Pen campaigned on a France-first, anti-immigration program.
Image source AFP
The National Front leader wants France to abandon the euro in the domestic economy, and hold a referendum on the country’s EU membership.
Emmanuel Macron is widely expected to win the vote, but analysts have said high abstention rates could damage his chances.
The run-off will be keenly watched across Europe, ahead of elections in Germany and the UK and as Britain negotiates its exit from the EU.
In whittling down a field of candidates to Emmanuel Macron and Marine Le Pen, French voters rejected the two big political parties – the Socialists and the Republicans – that have governed for decades.
The presidential campaign has been marked by its unpredictability, and in a final twist on May 5, soon before campaigning officially ended, Emmanuel Macron’s En Marche! political movement said it had been the victim of a “massive” hack, with a trove of documents released online.
The Macron team said real documents were mixed up with fake ones, and electoral authorities warned media and the public that spreading details of the attack would breach strict election rules and could bring criminal charges.
En Marche compared the hack to the leak of Democratic Party emails in last year’s US presidential election that was blamed on Russian hackers.
Emmanuel Macron has previously accused Moscow of targeting him with cyber attacks, which Russia strongly denied.
On May 6, President François Hollande promised to “respond” to the attack.
Management of the economy, security, immigration and France’s relationship with the EU have all been key issues in the campaign.
One of the overriding issues is unemployment, which stands at almost 10% and is the eighth highest among the 28 EU member states. One in four under-25s is unemployed.
The French economy has made a slow recovery from the 2008 financial crisis and both candidates say deep changes are needed.
Marine Le Pen wants the pension age cut to 60 and to “renationalize French debt”, which she argues is largely held by foreigners.
Emmanuel Macron wants to cut 120,000 public-sector jobs, reduce public spending by €60 billion ($65 billion), plough billions into investment and reduce unemployment to below 7%.
If voters opt for Emmanuel Macron, they will be backing a candidate who seeks EU reform as well as deeper European integration, in the form of a eurozone budget and eurozone finance ministers.
Marine Le Pen promises quite the opposite. She wants a Europe of nations to replace the EU.
They are similarly divided on other foreign policy issues. Emmanuel Macron opposes any rapprochement with Russia, while Marine Le Pen met Vladimir Putin in Moscow recently and has previously stated her approval of Russia’s 2014 annexation of Crimea.
The presidential election will be followed by legislative elections on June 11 and 18. Emmanuel Macron, who quit the Socialist government of President Hollande to found his new political movement, has no lawmakers, and Marine Le Pen has only two.
Whoever wins the presidency will need to perform well in those crucial elections if they want to win a parliamentary majority to push through their proposals.
The documents were leaked on a file sharing website on May 5 and the Macron camp condemned the action just before the official campaigning period ended at midnight.
Candidates and the media now face restrictions until the polls close on May 7, meaning Emmanuel Macron cannot issue further statements.
About nine gigabytes of data were posted online by an anonymous user.
Emmanuel Macron’s En Marche movement said internal campaign documents, including emails and financial data, had been taken in an “act of massive, co-ordinated hacking”.
“The leaked files were obtained several weeks ago by hacking personal and professional email accounts of several officials of the movement,” the party said in a statement.
Image source Wikimedia
The campaign said the documents showed only legitimate campaign activities.
France’s election commission warned that publication or republication of the leaked information could be a criminal offence.
That too remains unclear. The Macron camp has not blamed any specific party but said the hack clearly aimed to damage it and undermine French democracy.
It compared it to the leak of Democratic Party emails in last year’s US presidential election that was blamed on Russian hackers.
WikiLeaks, which published those emails, posted a link to the Macron documents on Twitter but implied it was not responsible.
Emmanuel Macron’s team has already been the victim of hacking attacks, for which it has blamed groups based in Russia and Ukraine. It suspects the Kremlin of wanting to help Marine Le Pen, who supports a pro-Moscow foreign policy.
Macron campaign servers went down for several minutes in February after attacks apparently originating in Ukraine. Last month, security experts from the company Trend Micro said that Russian hackers were targeting Emmanuel Macron’s campaign, using phishing emails, malware and fake net domains in an attempt to grab login names, passwords and other credentials of campaign staff.
Russia has denied that it is behind attacks aimed at Emmanuel Macron.
On May 4, Emmanuel Macron filed a lawsuit over online rumors that he had a secret bank account in the Caribbean.
The centrist candidate called the allegations “fake news and lies” and said some of the sites spreading them were “linked to Russian interests”.
Separate security alerts in and around Paris marred May 5 final scramble by the candidates to court voters.
A suspected radical Islamist possessing weapons and a pledge of allegiance to ISIS was arrested north of Paris.
Greenpeace activists scaled the Eiffel Tower to unfurl a banner, sparking an emergency police meeting.
French voters have rejected the two big political parties – the Socialists and the Republicans – that have governed for decades.
Voters will be making a decision on the country’s future direction and on its place at the heart of the EU.
If they opt for liberal Emmanuel Macron, they will be backing a candidate who seeks EU reform as well as deeper European integration, in the form of a eurozone budget and eurozone finance ministers.
If instead they choose far-right Marine Le Pen she promises quite the opposite. She wants a Europe of nations to replace the EU.
“I give myself six months to negotiate with the EU the return of sovereignty. Then it will be the French who decide,” Marine Le Pen tweeted.
The assumption is that Marine Le Pen would fail and a referendum would take place initially on France’s membership of the euro.
After the Brexit vote in the UK and the election of President Donald Trump, France is the latest country to deal a blow to politics as usual.
Emmanuel Macron was more impressive than rival Marine Le Pen in last night’s final TV debate for French presidential debate, a viewers’ poll says.
The candidates traded insults for more than two hours, arguing over terrorism, the economy, and Europe.
The French broadcaster BFMTV found voters had a more favorable view of Emmanuel Macron than Marine Le Pen in most categories.
Emmanuel Macron was the “most convincing” of the pair in the opinion of 63% of viewers.
Marine Le Pen lambasted her rival for his finance and government background, accusing him of being “the candidate of savage globalization” and said his version of France “is a trading room, where it will be everyone fighting for themselves”.
In turn, Emmanuel Macron said Marine Le Pen had openly lied, proposed nothing, and exaggerated the concerns of the public.
“The high priestess of fear is sitting before me,” he said.
Image source AFP
Both candidates were hoping to make an impression on the estimated 18% of undecided voters in the first election the country has ever held without a candidate from the two traditional mainstream parties.
The BFMTV poll found that Emmanuel Macron was deemed the “most convincing” during the TV debate for two-thirds of those who voted for both left-wing candidate Jean-Luc Mélenchon in the first round, and for 58% of those who voted for Republican François Fillon.
Emmanuel Macron also led among voters when they were asked about which candidate was most honest, most aligned with the voters’ values, and who had the best plans.
It was carried out among 1,314 people over the age of 18 who watched the debate.
Emmanuel Macron already enjoys a lead in the opinion polls, which predict he will pull in about 59% of votes.
However, Marine Le Pen hammered her rival on his record during the key debate.
On unemployment, which stands at around 10% nationally, Emmanuel Macron acknowledged that France had not tackled the problem – and Marine Le Pen asked why he had not handled it during his recent time as economy minister.
Marine Le Pen also accused Emmanuel Macron of complacency about the threat of radical Islamist terrorism.
“Security and terrorism are major issues that are completely missing from your program,” she said.
In response, Emmanuel Macron said the measures she proposed – “eradicating” Islamic fundamentalism by shutting down extremist mosques, and expelling preachers of hate – played into terrorists’ hands and the desire they have for a “a civil war”.
They also clashed on the future of the EU, where they have clearly opposed views.
Marine Le Pen has said she would call for an in-out referendum on EU membership, and in recent days declared the euro currency finished.
During the debate, the National Front leader said she would restore France’s national currency and give companies and banks an option on which currency to pay in – a proposal which Emmanuel Macron labeled “nonsense”.
“How can a big company pay in euros on one hand and pay its employees in another currency?” he asked.
Last night’s debate marked the last time the two candidates faced each other before May 7 vote.
Just two days of campaigning remain before reporting restrictions come into force late on May 5 – and remain in place until polls close on May 7.
Marine Le Pen and Emmanuel Macron go head to head on in a TV debate seen as the climax of a long and bitter campaign for France’s presidential election.
The aim for centrist Emmanuel Macron and his far-right rival Marine Le Pen is to win the votes of large numbers of undecided or reluctant voters.
For the first time, neither candidate is from a mainstream French party.
Although Marine Le Pen’s father qualified in 2002 for the run-off as head of her party, the National Front (FN), his rival and eventual winner, Jacques Chirac, refused to take part in a debate because of the FN leader’s extremist views.
Image source AFP
Both candidates have limited their campaigning in recent days in preparation for the debate, set for 21:00 on May 3 and due to last two hours 20 minutes.
There have been TV debates ahead of the first round but so far the two main candidates have not sparred face to face. And this is being billed as the moment of truth, on the two biggest TV channels in front of some 20 million French viewers.
All the big campaign themes will be tackled, from France’s 10% unemployment rate and the economy to security, health policy and the EU.
For Marine Le Pen it is her big chance to land some blows and make up ground by exposing her 39-year-old rival’s relative inexperience.
Emmanuel Macron as favorite arguably has most to lose.
The French debate is not similar to the US presidential debate where the candidates stand behind lecterns. This is a direct confrontation.
The two candidates will sit at a big desk, Marine Le Pen on the left, Emmanuel Macron on the right. The presidential debate is a tried and tested event in France, going back to 1974.
The two moderators, Nathalie Saint-Cricq and Christophe Jakubyszyn are heavyweight political journalists, but not the big TV presenters France is used to. That is because the candidates objected to the initial choices.
The temperature will be regulated at 19C to keep the candidates cool.
The debate is must-see TV for French voters but there could be a battle over the remote.
AS Monaco go head to head against Juventus 15 minutes before the debate starts in the semi-final of the Champions League, in a match broadcast on pay TV.
Marine Le Pen’s campaign is based on a patriotic “Choose France” slogan. According to her, she is the real thing, and her rival is an impostor backed up by the old guard of French politics.
Her supporters leapt on a rumor on May 2 that Emmanuel Macron was threatening to walk out of the debate if she started using him as a “punching-ball”.
Marine Le Pen tweeted: “If Mr. Macron doesn’t feel comfortable he can always ask [President] François Hollande to come and hold his hand, I won’t stand in his way.”
However, to convince voters wary of a far-right leader she may project a softer image too, while her opponent will need to show a firm streak.
Emmanuel Macron’s aim is to seek the moral high ground by showing that he has authentic policies while his rival’s ideas are simplistic and dangerous for France.
“I want to go head-to-head, to get to the bottom of the issues, to show that these are false solutions,” he said on May 2.
Marine Le Pen has announced that she is stepping aside as leader of her National Front (FN) party.
The move comes just a day after the far-right presidential candidate reached the second round of the French election, where she will face centrist Emmanuel Macron.
Marine Le Pen told French TV she needed to be above partisan considerations.
The French term Marine Le Pen used signaled that the move to step aside would be temporary.
She told France 2 that France was approaching a “decisive moment”.
Photo Reuters
Marine Le Pen said her decision had been made out of the “profound conviction” that the president must bring together all of the French people.
“So, this evening, I am no longer the president of the National Front. I am the candidate for the French presidency,” she said.
Marine Le Pen took over the FN leadership from her father, Jean-Marie Le Pen, in January 2011.
She won 7.6 million votes on April 23 – the strongest ever result for a FN candidate, and 2.8 million more than her father won in 2002.
Her party wants to slash immigration, clamp down on trade, and overturn France’s relationship with Europe.
Emmanuel Macron, a former economy minister, is widely expected to win the run-off vote on May 7.
On April 24, he won the backing of President Francois Hollande, to go with that of two defeated candidates.
Francois Hollande said the far right would threaten the break-up of Europe, “profoundly divide France” and “faced with such a risk, I will vote for Emmanuel Macron”.
The president said his former economy minister would “defend the values which will bring French people together”.
Francois Fillon and Socialist Benoît Hamon both urged their supporters to vote for Emmanuel Macron.
In a victory speech to supporters, Emmanuel Macron borrowed language favored by his rival to describe himself as the patriotic choice for France.
Image source NBC News
“I hope that in a fortnight I will become your president. I want to become the president of all the people of France – the president of the patriots in the face of the threat from the nationalists,” he said.
Marine Le Pen also made an “appeal to all patriots”, saying a vote for her was the key to the “survival of France”.
“Wherever they come from, whatever their origin, whatever they voted for in the first round, I invite them all to join us and to abandon ancient quarrels and to concentrate on what is essential for our country,” she said.
Marine Le Pen’s campaign for the Front National party centers on wanting to slash immigration, clamp down on free-trade, and overturn France’s relationship with Europe.
Emmanuel Macron was current President Francois Hollande’s economy minister but quit to create his own party, En Marche, which pushes a liberal, pro-EU agenda.
The 39-year-old could now become the youngest president France has ever had.
Various political rivals are now expected to unite in a bid to keep the Front National from power.
Benoit Hamon, the candidate of President Hollande’s Socialist Party who failed to make an impact in the first round, urged those who voted for him to support Emmanuel Macron in the next stage.
Francois Fillon has done the same.
As the results came in, Emmanuel Macron addressed the nation in front of an EU flag, giving hope to European leaders who are keen to strengthen the union after Brexit.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s spokesman, Steffan Seibert, tweeted: “It’s good that Emmanuel Macron was successful with his course for a strong EU and social market economy. All the best for the next two weeks.”
European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker also congratulated Emmanuel Macron, as did EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini.
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