French President Emmanuel Macron beats his far-right rival to win reelection

PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
..."The results have implications for the war in Ukraine
During her campaign, Le Pen pledged to dilute French ties with the 27-nation EU, NATO and Germany, moves that would have shaken Europe's security architecture as the continent deals with its worst conflict since World War II. Le Pen also spoke out against EU sanctions on Russian energy supplies and faced scrutiny during the campaign over her previous friendliness with the Kremlin.

A chorus of European leaders hailed Macron's victory, since France has played a leading role in international efforts to punish Russia with sanctions and is supplying weapons to Ukraine.

"Democracy wins, Europe wins," said Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez.

"Together we will make France and Europe advance," tweeted European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

Italian Premier Mario Draghi hailed Macron's victory as "splendid news for all of Europe" and a boost to the EU "being a protagonist in the greatest challenges of our times, starting with the war in Ukraine."

With more than four-fifths of votes counted, Macron was leading 56% to 44% for Le Pen. Polling agencies projected that once all votes were counted, Macron's margin of victory would be well above 10 points, although that would be much closer than when they first faced off in 2017.

Macron is the first French president in 20 years to win reelection, since incumbent Jacques Chirac trounced Le Pen's father in 2002."...