Independent centrist candidate Emmanuel Macron claimed a decisive victory over National Front leader Le Pen, in a tense presidential election race for France.
Despite the increasing concern over a surge in populist sentiment sweeping the continent, ultimately Macron beat Le Pen in a landslide, with a project 65.5 percent of the total vote.
As markets reacted to the sweeping victory, the euro jumped to $1.1024 before stabilising to $1.098. Despite running as an independent, Macron’s election is not perceived to be destabilising to French politics.
Whilst Macron can rest easy for now, having achieved a resounding victory against his opponent, there is some concern that as an independent he will find it more difficult to push through legislation without party representatives.
Michael Hewson, chief market analyst at CMC Markets UK told the BBC:
“While politicians in Europe let out a collective sigh of relief what the result can’t disguise is the level of voter dissatisfaction in France as a whole, given that nearly half the French electorate still voted for parties who ran on an anti-globalisation ticket.
“Knowing all of this the new French President may well find that winning was the easy bit. It’s all well and good running on a ticket of cutting 120,000 public sector jobs, a 60bn euros cut in public spending and a lowering of the unemployment rate to 7 percent, it will be another getting it through the French parliament.”
Macron, a former investment banker, is on the whole economically liberal and despite holding the post of economy minister under his unpopular predecessor Hollande, he has not claimed to be predominately of left or right affiliation in politics.
During the course of the campaign, Macron ran on a platform advocating expansion of the welfare state alongside a more business friendly government agenda. Conversely, his opponent Le Pen was tipped as a populist, anti-globalisation candidate, in favour of abandoning the single European currency.
Macron’s victory is an encouraging event against the narrative of populism in recent months, and may potentially prove a decisive indicator as to the direction of European politics.