Victorious Macron vows to unite France after fending off Le Pen threat

Macron became the first French leader to win re-election for 20 years, scoring a clear margin of 58.5% to 41.5%, according to initial projected results by Ipsos for France Televisions.

Macron beat Le Pen with a lower margin than the 66% he won against her in 2017. Turnout was also lower than five years ago, with abstention estimated at a record 28%.

Macron will use his win to bolster his push for an increased EU defence project, closer collaboration on immigration and more regulation to counter the weight of giant tech platforms such as Google. France holds the rotating European Council presidency until the end of June.

But Macron knew that, after campaigning to stop Le Pen, his support at the ballot box would reflect as much the rejection of the far right as support for his own programme.

Macron had leaned to the left in the final days to try to court Mélenchon voters, promising to speed up measures against climate breakdown and expand environmental policy. His first task is to appoint a new prime minister, who he promised would be specifically devoted to addressing the climate crisis.

For his first step, Macron has promised to introduce a package of measures to ease the pressure of the cost of living crisis before summer, including continuing caps on gas and energy prices.