No jubilation in the streets for the re-elected President, not even at his own election party in front of the Eiffel Tower: in France, many only feel a sense of relief that the extremes did not prevail.
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Thomas Kirchner and Nadia Pantel, Paris
Got away again. No cheering on the balconies, no motorcades in the streets. A soft “ouf” will have escaped many French people’s lips on Sunday evening when the television station announced the result of the first estimate at 8 p.m. sharp. 58.2 percent for Emmanuel Macron, 41.8 for Marine Le Pen. Then not such a close success, but a fairly clear success for the incumbent. In the first round two weeks ago, Macron was at 27.9 percent, Le Pen at 23.2 percent. But polls had meanwhile seen the challenger almost on par. The right-wing extremist, so the fear in the political center of the country, would have fundamentally changed France – and probably also Europe.