And there you have it: we now have the results of the French presidential election, which saw Emmanuel Macron re-elected as leader of his country - the first French president to achieve a second term in office in 20 years.

In his victory speech, Macron vowed to be "the president for everyone" and said he had an obligation to those who voted for him to block the far right.

Far-right opponent Marine Le Pen quickly conceded, but vowed to continue to fight for her nationalist ideas.

Tonight's live page reports were brought to you by Paul Kirby, Henri Astier, Adam Durbin and Alexandra Fouché. Claudia Allen and Kevin Ponniah were the editors.

There might have been some overoptimistic planning over Marine Le Pen's headquarters as one of our correspondents spotted this bottle of champagne with a label bearing the words "Marine Présidente".

Le Pen has not become France's first female president this evening.

The champagne bottle was, however, empty.

Anna Holligan
Reporting from Hénin-Beaumont

I've been bringing you updates all evening from a bar in Hénin-Beaumont, a Le Pen stronghold in northern France.

As the night draws to a close, the giant cockerel called Marine has gone and half-drunk champagne flutes have been abandoned.

Earlier Marine Le Pen supporters here drowned out Emmanuel Macron’s victory speech with French pop. As he vowed to unite France, here in Le Belle Anglaise they weren’t listening.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky has congratulated French President Emmanuel Macron on his re-election.

In a tweet, external, Zelensky described Macron as a true friend of Ukraine and expressed his appreciation of France's support since Russia invaded.

Macron has played a central role in trying to end the war in Ukraine, visiting the Russian President in Moscow prior to Russia’s invasion, and participating in a number of phone calls with Vladimir Putin since.

Audible sigh of relief from EU leaderspublished at 23:32 British Summer Time 24 April 2022

23:32 BST 24 April 2022

Katya Adler
Reporting from Paris

The biggest audible sigh of relief has been coming from EU leaders.

A President Le Pen would have been seen as an existential threat to the union, as she's a known Eurosceptic, whereas it's hard to be more EU enthusiastic than Emmanuel Macron.

France is the second biggest economy in in the EU, it's got the biggest military power in the EU and it plays a huge leadership role.

Not just within the EU, but also in Nato which is so important right now with the Russia-Ukraine crisis.

Marine Le Pen is seen as having close ties to Moscow, which had European leaders and the US worried.

Tonight, they're very relieved.

Image source, LUDOVIC MARIN/AFP via Getty Images

The first phone call Emmanuel Macron took part in after his re-election was with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, the Elysée presidential office is quoted as saying by Reuters news agency.

"Chancellor Scholz called the president to congratulate him," it said in a statement.

"It was the first call taken by the president, a mark of Franco-German friendship."

Rob Young
Reporting from Nice

At an election party for Macron supporters in Nice, the bottles of champagne remained on ice until well after the result projections were announced. Campaign staff didn’t want to be too presumptuous.

Even 40 minutes after Macron’s supporters had been cheering and chanting in jubilation, the corks remained firmly in their bottles. But many had been convinced their candidate would win, even though they had encountered scepticism when out campaigning.

Marine Le Pen’s National Rally did very well in this part of France - the Alpes-Maritime area - in the first round, when she beat Macron. Her supporters in the area say they expect her to still come out on top locally when the results for the department are published.

That matters for the upcoming legislative elections, when France will vote for MPs. One senior councillor here even suggested to me that if the National Rally did well in parliament, Marine Le Pen should put herself forward to be prime minister of France.

Image source, LUDOVIC MARIN/AFP via Getty Images

France's prime minister Jean Castex has hailed the victory of Emmanuel Macron and says he is rejoicing in the clear re-election of the sitting president, noting it represents a strong message from the French public.

Speaking to France Info radio, he says the win is "rich in political significance" for the returned leader, while acknowledging the country is going through a "considerable crisis".

Castex adds that French society is currently struggling with "many divisions and a lack of understanding" amongst the public.

Macron's achievement shouldn't be overlookedpublished at 22:34 British Summer Time 24 April 2022

22:34 BST 24 April 2022

Hugh Schofield
Reporting from Paris

Not enough is being made of this, but this is the first time ever that a governing president of the Fifth Republic has been re-elected.

Yes, presidents have retained the Élysée before. But both François Mitterrand in 1988 and Jacques Chirac in 2002 were effectively in opposition in the period running up to the vote.

In both cases, actual government was - as a result of mid-term parliamentary elections - in the hands of the president's foes.

As for Charles de Gaulle's victory in 1965, he'd never been elected by the people in the first place.

So, Emmanuel Macron is the first president in modern times who, after running every aspect of foreign and domestic policy for a full term, has once again won the trust of the people.

When you consider France's longstanding relationship with government - which is essentially to cheer 'em in, then chuck 'em out at the first opportunity - this is no mean feat.

Read more of Hugh's analysis - including why there are some caveats to Macron's achievement.

Nick Beake
Reporting from Le Pen HQ

Supermarket cashier Camara Mariam from Paris says she’s disgusted by the result.

But she felt reassured when Marine Le Pen told the crowd here that the fight was not over.

"Macron has mistreated us, humiliated us, and shame on those who dare to vote for him," Camara says.

Marketing student Melina Bravo, 23, says she hasn’t lost hope and is looking ahead to the parliamentary elections in June.

"Macron doesn’t really love France, but Marine does. For him, international issues comes first and the French people come second."

Melina says she used to worried about what people would think of her, campaigning for Le Pen, but now she feels it’s her patriotic duty to openly support the far-right leader.

Hélène Daouphars
Reporting from Paris

With around three-quarters of the votes now officially counted, it's clear that the winner by a significant margin is Emmanuel Macron.

The full and final results of the presidential election will be declared officially on Wednesday.

President Macron will be sworn in for his second term on 13 May in a special ceremony at the Élysée Palace lead by the president of the Constitutional Council. Laurent Fabius will read out the final results and solemnly declare Emmanuel Macron to be the President of the French Republic.

French people will be called to vote to elect their MPs on 12 and 19 June. This will be a crucial vote for the president who will hope to secure a majority for his party in the National Assembly.

Image source, Getty Images

If you've just joined us, here's a round-up of the main news of the evening:

• President Emmanuel Macron has won a convincing victory over his far-right rival Marine Le Pen
• According to reliable projections based on real results, he's taken more than 58% of the vote compared to less than 42% for his challenger
• Le Pen quickly conceded but vowed to continue to fight for her nationalist ideas
• In his victory speech, Macron sought to project an image as a unifier and promised to to be "the president of everyone"
• The campaign was marked by breakthrough performances by radicals from both the right and left, and by the collapse of mainstream conservative and socialist parties
• All political forces are now preparing for the next stage: legislative elections in June which will determine who runs the government
• European leaders have warmly congratulated Macron on his re-election. Chancellor Scholz of Germany said the French people had shown their strong commitment to Europe

Image source, Reuters

Centrist Macron sends a message of unitypublished at 21:50 British Summer Time 24 April 2022

21:50 BST 24 April 2022

Henri Astier
Reporting from London

French presidents are heads of state, not of government. It is not unusual for them to send a message of unity after an election.

But given the extraordinary level of polarisation in France, Macron felt he needed to be particularly forceful in his pledge to be "the president of everyone".

He's fully aware that many voters backed him, as he put it himself, "not to support my ideas but to block the far right".

He now rules over a profoundly divided country in which 55% of first-round voters chose radical candidates who do not share his pro-European vision. And in today's second round, at least 40% have voted for a far-right figure.

The country's divisions will be once again laid bare during the campaign for legislative elections in June that will determine who governs.

Both the nationalist right and the hard left will be seeking to capitalise on widespread anti-establishment anger.

Macron knows that the road ahead will be long and hard for a centrist who is admired and hated in equal measure.

Chris Bockman
Reporting from Toulouse

The famous and vast Place du Capitole in the centre of Toulouse is where sports teams and political parties usually celebrate election victories, but this evening there was no sign of celebrations.

Laurent Dubois, one of the best known political analysts in southern France, told me Macron was re-elected "thanks to far-left voters who share none of his ideas and they are tired of doing it election after election".

However, close to the square, there was a heavy police presence as several hundred anti-Macron protesters converged for a rally. Many are part of the gilets jaunes or yellow-vest movement that was particularly active in the city, where some of the most violent protests occurred.

Two 25-year-old protesters, Emma and Raphaël, said they were at the rally because they refused to accept today’s election result.

Germany's Chancellor Olaf Scholz has joined the chorus of European politicians congratulating the victor.

In the days leading up to the election, Scholz joined other moderate leaders of European nations in publicly calling on the French people to reject the far-right Marine Le Pen and re-elect Emmanuel Macron.

The German leader says voters had signalled their support to Europe and that he looks forward to continuing to work with the French president.

As we've been reporting, Emmanuel Macron has thanked his supporters and those people who voted for him to "build barricade against far-right" in his victory speech. Here's part of what he had to say:

Macron appeals to all with eye on upcoming electionspublished at 21:19 British Summer Time 24 April 2022

21:19 BST 24 April 2022

Jessica Parker
Reporting from the Macron victory party

As expected, what Emmanuel Macron tried to do in his speech this evening is not just appeal to those people who are in his supporter base.

He wanted to appeal to those who stayed at home, who voted "blank", as they say in France, to those who only voted for him to stop Marine Le Pen and indeed to Le Pen supporters as well.

Why? Well the president acknowledged that the country is divided and for any political leader a divided country is a harder country to govern.

So he talked about trying to do what he could do in order to address those divisions in society.

Another reason he wanted to reach out to those voters though, is with an eye on elections in June - where he'll want to do what he did in 2017 and secure a majority in the parliament in order to make sure he has a co-operative legislature.

So he wanted to try to heal some of those divisions and strike the right note of dignity over triumphalism.

Image source, LUDOVIC MARIN/AFP via Getty Images

Straight after the speech, Emmanuel Macron's wife tells French television her husband being re-elected represents "an immense honour".

She says she is ready for another five-year presidential term.

"We all want things to change," she says, "I wish it with all my heart."

On securing a second term, she says her husband has "entered history" and she adds she is "so happy" for him.

She says Macron has "ambition for France".

"He will do anything to get there," she adds, "I have immense confidence in him."

One of the first lady's aides posted this photo taken at the Elysée presidential palace when Macron's victory was announced.

Image source, LUDOVIC MARIN/AFP via Getty Images

"I will work for a more just society and equality between men and women​," Macron says.

"We need to show respect because our country is so divided... no one will be left by the wayside," he continues.

The president also talks about how he will run the country in his second term. "This new era," he says, "will not continue the methods of the past five years".

"The Ukraine war shows we are living through tragic times."

He concludes his speech by saying he is proud to serve the French people again.

His speech is followed by a rendition of the Marseillaise, the French national anthem.

Macron thanks all those who voted for him, and says he is conscious that many voted for him to block the far right. He says he owes an obligation to those voters for the years ahead.

He says he is thinking of who those who abstained and also those who voted for Le Pen who are now disappointed. This gets jeers from supporters, and he urges the crowd not to boo them.

"From now on, I'm no longer the candidate of one camp, but the president of all.

"I tell those who voted for the far right that my responsibility and that of my team will be to address their concerns."

Image source, LUDOVIC MARIN/AFP via Getty Images