Summary

  • Emmanuel Macron has beaten far-right candidate Marine Le Pen to win the French presidency

  • The centrist has taken 58% of the vote to her 42% in a narrower victory than their previous contest in 2017, projections based on real results show

  • Macron, 44, makes history by becoming the first French president to be re-elected in 20 years

  • Speaking to supporters in front of the Eiffel Tower in Paris, he thanked French voters for trusting him after "five years of hard times"

  • He acknowledged many people voted for him only to block the far right and vowed to govern for all

  • Le Pen, 53, was running for the presidency for a third time and has conceded defeat

  • Addressing supporters earlier, she said her party's unprecedented vote share was still a victory

Live Reporting

Edited by Claudia Allen

  1. What's happening?

    Ballot in French voteGetty Images

    This is the deciding round of the French presidential election.

    Macron won the first round with 27.85% of the vote and Le Pen was the runner-up with 23.15%. As none of the 12 candidates won more than half the vote, those two qualified for today’s run-off.

    Around 47.8m French citizens are eligible to vote for their chosen candidate, and whoever wins an absolute majority of votes cast will be elected. One of the big issues of today’s vote is how many people either stay at home or cast blank ballots - either way they won’t count.

    Find out more about how it all works in our simple guide to the election.

  2. Welcome to our coverage of the French presidential election

    Welcome to our live updates from the French election. Our colleagues across France and in London will be bringing you developments as they happen, explaining the ins and outs of this tense presidential vote.

    The stakes are high: Emmanuel Macron is vying to become the first French president to win re-election for 20 years, while Marine Le Pen hopes to be the first far-right leader to win the presidency.