"I am more than relieved, I am delighted to see that Emmanuel Macron has won the election by a wide margin", Catherine Cesarsky, an astrophysicist at the CEA, France's atomic energy commission, told Nature News. But it will be a short honeymoon period.
The question remains: will Emmanuel Macron, inexperienced in politics and with his fledgling party be able to form the credible government needed to pass the reforms he promises?
CGTN's Richard Bestic explains what's next for Macron.
With the two mainstream parties - the conservative Republicans and the left-wing Socialists - both failing to reach the presidential runoff vote, his chances of winning a majority that supports his election pledges will depend on him widening his centrist base.
Even though he has studied at some of the most prestigious universities in France and served as minister of economy, industry and digital data under President Francois Hollande, Emmanuel Macron has never held an elected office till date, quite like the American President Donald Trump. While Macron's electoral triumph was unprecedented, the challenges awaiting the President-elect are huge.
Among those cheering Macron's victory will be officials in Brussels who work with the European Union.
PM Narendra Modi Congratulates Emmanuel Macron On Victory
President Rodrigo Duterte is eager to work with his newly elected French counterpart, Emmanuel Macron, Malacañang said Monday. The AP reported further, "I know the anger, the anxiety, the doubts that a large number of you also expressed.
But if another party wins a majority, the new president could be pressured to choose a prime minister from that party, a situation the French call "cohabitation". All 577 seats in France's National Assembly will be up for grabs.
Concerns remain that Macron is yet to secure a power base in Parliament, with elections due next month in a country that remains split on the path ahead.
His party, En Marche (Forward) is tweaking its name as it prepares a list of candidates.
Defeated rival Le Pen remains defiant. "I will propose starting this deep transformation of our movement in order to make a new political force", she said. Now she's looking to take the 11 million votes she won and rebuild the brand.
On the financial front, European stock markets edged down in early trading as investors had been widely expecting Macron's victory. Elections are likely to be contests between the nationalism and globalism for some time yet but the significance of the French result is that, unlike the Dutch victor, Macron did not move into his opponent's territory.
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