Summary

  • Emmanuel Macron defeats Marine Le Pen to win French presidency

  • He won over 66% of the vote

  • Macron set up his centrist En Marche movement only 13 months ago

  • He has promised to fight division and promote hope and reconciliation

  • Marine Le Pen hailed a "historic, massive result" for the far right

  • Turnout was around 74%, the lowest for a run-off in almost 50 years

  1. Anti-Macron march under waypublished at 14:51 British Summer Time 8 May 2017

    That didn't take long. 

    An anti-capitalist demonstration against Macron has set off from the Place de la République in Paris.

    Demonstrators chanted "En marche, en marche arrière" - On the move, in reverse gear - a pun on the name of Macron's En Marche movement.

    One protester held up a placard bearing another pun - "En Marx", referring to the father of communism, Karl Marx.

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  2. Merkel hails 'spectacular' victorypublished at 14:46 British Summer Time 8 May 2017

    MerkelImage source, Getty Images

    German Chancellor Angela Merkel has said she is very pleased about Mr Macron's "spectacular" victory, praising what she called his brave pro-European campaign. 

    She said:

    Quote Message

    He ran a courageous pro-European campaign, stands for openness to the world and is committed decisively to a social market economy."

    Mrs Merkel said the two would meet soon and that Germany wanted to help France with issues such as cutting youth unemployment, but that didn't necessarily mean changing German policies.

    She also said Franco-German co-operation was a "cornerstone" of German foreign policy.

    However, she rejected suggestions that her country should do more to support Europe's economy by cutting its trade surplus, saying export levels were based on the high quality of German products and European Central Bank policy.

    The BBC's Damien McGuinness in Berlin says many Germans are wary of Mr Macron's call for greater shared responsibility within the eurozone, in case that means German taxpayers in effect being asked to help underwrite the French economy.

    That won't be popular, particularly in an election year, our correspondent says, and Berlin will need to see evidence that Mr Macron is serious about economic reforms - before necessarily giving his ideas the green light.

    A spokeswoman for Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble said there were many things to discuss with his French counterpart, including "strengthening the eurozone economically as well as its governing structures". 

  3. Read our in-depth coveragepublished at 14:42 British Summer Time 8 May 2017

    Macron arrives at campaign HQImage source, Reuters

    It's the day after the night before - and the BBC has comprehensive coverage.

  4. Algerian leader congratulates Macronpublished at 14:29 British Summer Time 8 May 2017

    Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika has offered his congratulations on Mr Macron's victory and described him as a "friend of Algeria".

    Mr Macron found himself backtracking during his campaign after describing France's history in Algeria as a "crime against humanity." 

    He apologised after being criticised by French nationals who had to leave Algeria following the war of independence in 1962 but also said France had to face its past.

    During the TV debate against far-right candidate Marine Le Pen, he insisted he was "neither in repentance nor in denial" and said it was time for a "new stage" in relations between the two countries.

    Algeria was ruled by France for 132 years and 1.5 million Algerians died in the conflict over independence, the Algerian government says.

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  5. Still one election to gopublished at 14:08 British Summer Time 8 May 2017

    The World at One
    BBC Radio 4

    Media caption,

    Macron faces a 'very hard' legislative election, says Le Figaro's Francois-Xavier Bourmaud

    Emmanuel Macron faces a "very hard" parliamentary election next month as he will be challenged by the centre-right Republicans seeking "revenge", Le Figaro newspaper's Francois-Xavier Bourmaud says.

    "There is still one election to go for him to be able to get his programme done." 

  6. Who is the new First Lady?published at 13:56 British Summer Time 8 May 2017

    macron and trogneux at the louvreImage source, Reuters

    First things first: theirs is not a common relationship.

    That is paraphrased from words Mr Macron himself said on the couple's wedding day: that they were "not quite common, a couple not quite normal - not that I like this adjective very much - but a couple that exists".

    There is an age gap of 24 years between the pair - the same as that between Donald and Melania Trump. The couple, he now 39 and she now 64, met when she was his drama teacher.

    The 15-year-old Emmanuel was, by all accounts, intellectually precocious. He was a pupil at a private Jesuit school in Amiens where, Ms Trogneux later said, he "had a relationship of equals with other adults" rather than acting and speaking like a teenager.

    She continued: "I was totally overcome by the intelligence of this boy."

    Meet Brigitte Trogneux, the new First Lady

  7. Macron's pick for PM?published at 13:50 British Summer Time 8 May 2017

    le drianImage source, AFP/Getty
    Image caption,

    Mr Le Drian (L) was the first Socialist heavyweight to back Macron

    Defence Minister Yves Le Drian would make a good prime minister, according to Christophe Castaner, spokesman of Macron's En Marche (On The Move) movement. He was giving his personal opinion to France's BFMTV channel.

    Mr Macron has not said who his choice will be but he did say in a radio interview on Friday that he had someone in mind.

    Mr Le Drian was the first big Socialist politician to back Mr Macron rather than his own party's candidate, Benoît Hamon.

    Other possible names mentioned by French media include current IMF head Christine Lagarde.

    Who will be Macron's PM?

  8. 'No sign of being awed'published at 13:21 British Summer Time 8 May 2017

    James Reynolds
    BBC News, Paris

    Emmanuel Macron inherits one of the most powerful positions in Europe, and all the symbolism that comes with it. This morning at the Arc de Triomphe, he showed no sign of being awed by his new job. 

    He walked alongside the outgoing president, François Hollande, as the two laid a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. The two then shook hands with veterans. 

    Mr Macron appeared to take longer to make his way through one receiving line, stopping to talk to elderly men, leaving Mr Hollande to wait for him at the end. 

    Emmanuel Macron now becomes France’s youngest leader since Napoleon, whose battles are commemorated at the Arc de Triomphe. The new president will hope that his own fights are less bloody.

    Macron at Arc de TriompheImage source, Reuters
  9. Risky eurozone transfers?published at 13:18 British Summer Time 8 May 2017

    A business reporter, Ferdinando Giugliano, tweets that Mr Macron favours fiscal transfers in the eurozone - something that Germany has always resisted.

    It would mean creating a new fund so that richer countries, like Germany, could give more help to struggling "periphery" countries like Greece. 

    During the Greek debt crisis many economists have warned of the risk of "moral hazard". It means that, given a reliable safety net, a reckless government, or bank, can load itself with unsustainable debt. 

  10. Macron era - some key datespublished at 13:08 British Summer Time 8 May 2017

    What can we expect in the first weeks of the Macron presidency? 

    Here's a brief timetable (courtesy of Le Monde and BFMTV):

    • 10 May - Definitive results of second round (official results are published here, external)
    • This week - Candidates for top government posts should be named
    • 14 May - Macron to be sworn in as president
    • 11 June - National Assembly (parliament) elections; Macron will have far fewer problems if he can get a majority (289 seats)
    • 18 June - National Assembly elections, second round

    The BBC's Lucy Williamson examines how Team Macron is likely to take shape

  11. What's in 'le Big Mac'?published at 12:40 British Summer Time 8 May 2017

    Katya Adler
    Europe Editor

    What's really in "le Big Mac" (Macron)? asks BBC Europe editor Katya Adler.

    "What struck me as I watched his giddy supporters dancing, singing and waving the French flag so excitedly at his election party at the Louvre is how little is really known about him," she writes.

    "Socio-political divisions will become screamingly obvious in France now as it heads towards parliamentary elections."

    Metro headlineImage source, Metro screenshot
  12. Image of France 'changed'published at 11:57 British Summer Time 8 May 2017

    "The world's view of us has changed", tweets Benjamin Griveaux, spokesman for Mr Macron's En Marche movement.

    The country that long stood for revolution elected a centrist liberal who wants a strong - but reformed - EU.

  13. Pro-Macron Bordeaux 'sleepy'published at 11:50 British Summer Time 8 May 2017

    Bordeaux in the south-west is a Macron stronghold, but celebrations were quite sleepy and subdued there last night, the BBC's Nuala McGovern reports.

    The city's wealth was built on wine and the aeronautical industry. It is nicknamed "La Belle Endormie" (Sleeping Beauty). 

    Etienne Millien, from Sud Ouest newspaper, told BBC World News TV that reaction was low-key because many understood the huge challenge facing Mr Macron - uniting a deeply divided country.

    Etienne Millien (right) interviewed by BBC
  14. Patriotic daypublished at 11:34 British Summer Time 8 May 2017

    Another image of President Hollande and his successor Emmanuel Macron, from today's World War Two memorial ceremony in Paris. 

    Mr Macron got Mr Hollande's firm backing in the election. Yet the Socialist president - very unpopular himself - was not happy last year when Mr Macron left to launch his En Marche movement.

    Apparently Mr Hollande is not one to bear a grudge, however. He said Mr Macron "followed me", then "freed himself, but did not betray me".

    Macron (left) and HollandeImage source, AFP
  15. Voters explain choicepublished at 11:17 British Summer Time 8 May 2017

    French voters contacted by the BBC voiced caution about Emmanuel Macron. 

    Some said they were motivated mainly to keep Marine Le Pen out of power.

    Here are their reactions.

    Voter Margot CadicImage source, Margot Cadic
  16. Macron swearing-in on Sundaypublished at 11:00 British Summer Time 8 May 2017
    Breaking

    Mr Macron will be sworn in as president on Sunday, 14 May.

    The confirmation came from President Hollande, AFP news agency reports.

  17. French 'rolled over like in 1940' - Leave.EUpublished at 10:59 British Summer Time 8 May 2017

    The pro-Brexit campaign group Leave.EU is scornful of the staunch support for the EU that the new French president espouses. 

    The right-wing British group thinks the French have repeated their defeat of 1940, when their country was occupied by the Nazis.  

  18. Youngest leader since Louis-Napoléonpublished at 10:47 British Summer Time 8 May 2017

    The youngest French president before Emmanuel Macron was Louis-Napoléon, nephew of Napoléon Bonaparte. He became president in 1848, at the age of 40.

    He ruled as president until 1852, and from then until 1870 as French emperor, called Napoleon III. His demise was triggered by France's defeat by the Prussians at the Battle of Sedan.

    By the way, Bonaparte himself became emperor when he was 35.

    Louis-Napoleon, archive picImage source, AFP
  19. Putin: Let's overcome mutual distrustpublished at 10:21 British Summer Time 8 May 2017

    Russian President Vladimir Putin has urged Mr Macron to join forces against "violent extremism".

    The Kremlin message said:

    "The citizens of France entrusted you to lead the country in a difficult period for Europe and for the entire world community. 

    "The growing threat of terrorism and violent extremism is accompanied by an escalation of local conflicts and the destabilisation of entire regions. 

    "In these conditions it is especially important to overcome mutual distrust and join forces to ensure international stability and security."

  20. Military ceremony at eternal flamepublished at 10:15 British Summer Time 8 May 2017

    Mr Macron stood next to President Francois Hollande for a solemn ceremony at the Arc de Triomphe.

    They are commemorating France's liberation from the Nazis in World War Two. 

    They laid a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. A military choir sang a patriotic song, honouring the French Resistance forces.

    Macron (left) with President HollandeImage source, screenshot