The result comes as a relief to those who feared the consequences of a victory for far-right Marine Le Pen. With her in the Elysée, Europe would be in danger of falling apart at a sensitive moment. In the end, she only got about 42 percent of the vote, much less than had been predicted when she did unexpectedly well in the first round two weeks ago.
Le Pen also spoke of a ‘brilliant victory’. Her party Rassemblement National won a historic number of votes. Le Pen said in a speech that she “will not give up the fight” and that her party can count on a large number of votes in the next parliamentary election.
Despite so much at stake, turnout was lower than in 2017. At 5 p.m., 63.23 percent of voters had voted, up from 65.30 percent five years ago. There was a large number of abstainers.
Historic Election Day
It was clear in advance that France was going to have a historic election day on Sunday – regardless of the result. The last time a sitting president was re-elected was twenty years ago (Jacques Chirac). At the same time, the chance of a far-right president in France has never been so great. More than ever, the country was at a crossroads: would it choose between Macron’s open, globalized France or Le Pen’s closed, protective nation?
Although the scenario was known – in 2017 Macron and Le Pen also met in the final of the presidential elections – the outcome this time was a lot less certain. Five years ago, Macron won a sizable majority of voters for their belief that they should keep the far right out of the Elysée. But in recent years the space for the far right has grown in France – nearly one in three French people voted in the first round for Le Pen or its far-right competitor Eric Zemmour.
In addition, Le Pen successfully presented himself in the campaign as the candidate for purchasing power – the theme par excellence that preoccupies the French. Focusing on the socio-economic aspects of her program, she tried to seduce disappointed (former) left-wing voters while showing a more moderate face, making a vote for Rassemblement National a reasonable alternative for more French people.
Strong anti-Macron sentiment
Moreover, in addition to a still present anti-far right sentiment, a strong anti-Macron sentiment has also emerged in recent years, especially among left-wing voters. While as a relative newcomer in 2017 he managed to unleash a positive energy with a message of hope and new impetus, for many voters Macron has become a symbol for the deep dividing line that divides France: the one between winners and losers of globalization.
For them Macron is the personification of the urban, highly educated, wealthy France that is doing well, that pays little attention to the less fortunate French outside the big cities, whose living conditions are constantly deteriorating. Or worse, as the president who approaches these ‘stragglers’ with a certain contempt.
Le Pen cleverly capitalized on that sentiment in her campaign. She would be the president of all French people, she promised in her speech immediately after the results of the first round of elections. The ‘torn’ France would be rejoined by her. Against Macron’s message of an open society, connected to the world through free trade and globalization, she opposed the promise of protection. President Le Pen would protect the French from all dangers from outside – immigration, economic competition, European regulations.
Macron also aimed at left-wing voters, including climate plans
Since the results of the first round, two weeks ago, both candidates have mainly opened the hunt for the left-wing voter. While virtually all other presidential candidates had to take their loss with marginal scores, the radical left leader Jean-Luc Mélenchon managed to position himself in close third with almost 22 percent of the vote. Since then, Macron has mainly moved to places where Mélenchon has been leading the way, speaking mainly about climate policy, making cautious concessions in his pension plans, and promising to connect isolated regions more closely to medical care and other public services. Le Pen, meanwhile, continued to do what she has been doing for months: campaigning close to the ‘ordinary Frenchman’, with her plea for increased purchasing power at the forefront, in an attempt to seduce that left-wing voter as well.
Despite the promises of both presidential candidates, Sunday was a choice for many French voters not out of hope, but out of fear of worse – a choice between plague and cholera, as was often said in the run-up to the election. The new president of France thus faces a difficult task: to rule over a deeply divided country, which has chosen more against his opponent’s program than for his own.