French Presidential Election Update: Watch Results Of Macron-Le Pen Runoff

UPDATE: 6:50 p.m. EDT — French far-right leader Marine Le Pen said Sunday her National Front party will be getting a new name but said the just finished presidential election gave it new legitimacy despite her defeat, Politico reported.

“The National Front must also renew itself,” Le Pen told supporters. “I will, therefore, start the process of a deep transformation of our movement … I call upon all patriots to join us.”

Le Pen has her eye on next month’s legislative elections in which she vowed to win as many seats as possible.

“Marine Le Pen said it clearly: the National Front will change,” said National Front Vice President Florian Philippot, a key architect of the party’s anti-European Union position. “It’s going to change into a new political force which, necessarily, will not have the same name.”

UPDATE: 5:10 p.m. EDT — French President-elect Emmanuel Macron tweeted Monday his election victory over far-right candidate Marine Le Pen proves the “impossible” is possible.

Macron’s win in Sunday’s presidential runoff election eased market worries and sent the euro above $1.10 in early trading in Asia for the first time in six months, Reuters reported.

"Emmanuel Macron's victory gives markets a much-deserved breather from European politics," said Bill Street, head of investments for EMEA at State Street Global Advisors in London.

"This result, combined with last week’s preliminary Greek debt agreement, will be enough to support a short-term relief rally. Looking forward, Macron only offers upside surprises."

Attention now turns to French legislative elections next month as well as balloting in Germany and Britain.

Ireland’s Enda Kenny hailed Macron’s win as a “strong signal of confidence in the future of the EU.”

Macron garnered more than 65 percent of the vote. In Paris, it was 90 percent, Mayor Anne Hildago said.

UPDATE: 4:05 p.m. EDT — French President-elect Emmanuel Macron said Sunday he heard voters’ anger and anxiety and pledged to “fight the divisions that are undermining France.”

“Let us love France," Macron said in his victory speech following his runoff win over far-right candidate Marine Le Pen. "I will serve her with humility, devotion and determination.”

Macron said he “heard their [supporters of both Le Pen and far-left candidate Jean-Luc Mélenchon] anger, their anxiety, their doubts. I will fight the divisions that are undermining France."

Mélenchon, however, was not mollified. Though he said voters rejected Le Pen’s far-right philosophy, he warned Marcron planned to reverse social and climate gains achieved by Socialist President Francois Hollande.

UPDATE: 3:45 p.m. EDT — The White House issued a statement congratulating Emmanuel Macron on his French presidential victory:

"We congratulate President-elect Macron and the people of France on their successful presidential election. We look forward to working with the new President and continuing our close cooperation with the French government."

U.S. President Donald Trump tweeted his own congratulations as did British Prime Minister Theresa May, who is in the midst of Brexit talks:

At the Elysee, there was applause:

Former U.K. Independence Party leader Nigel Farage was disparaging:

UPDATE: 2:40 p.m. EDT — French Prime Minister Bernard Cazeneuve hailed Sunday’s election, saying it demonstrates “the lucidity of the electors,” rejecting the far-right and their “indefensible” attack on French values.

Cazeneuve said the election of Emmanuel Macron will guarantee France’s continued membership in the European Union and position the country to “face the challenges of the world, especially in the face of the terrorist threat.”

Marion Le Pen said her cousin was a victim of unfair media treatment.

UPDATE: 2:30 p.m. EDT — Marine Le Pen conceded the French presidential election to Emmanuel Macron Sunday, saying voters had opted for continuity but claiming victory for her alliance as the “biggest opposition group in France.”

As polls closed at 8 p.m., local time, Macron, the youngest French president ever elected, was projected the winner with 65.1 percent of the vote to Le Pen’s 34.9 percent. German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel was among those congratulating Macron, pledging, “Germany will be by your side.”

Macron’s victory was wider than the 20 percent predicted by pre-election polls, France 24 reported.

UPDATE: 2:06 p.m. EDT — Franceinfo declared Emmanuel Macron the winner of the French presidential runoff election.

Congratulations began pouring in:

Even comic Seth Meyers got in on the act:

Freedom fries, a political euphemism for french fries, is a reference to Republican ire when France refused to back the U.S. invasion of Iraq.

Original story

Center-left candidate Emmanuel Macron was poised Sunday to win the French presidential election despite a disappointing turnout and a last-minute campaign hack.

Polls put Macron firmly ahead of far-right candidate Marine Le Pen, who was hoping to ride a wave of populist sentiment to victory in the runoff balloting in the first French presidential runoff without a Socialist or Republican in the running. The election is being seen as a bellwether for voting to come in Germany and the U.K.

Both candidates were awaiting results at their campaign headquarters in Paris after voting in Le Touquet (Macron) and Henin-Beaumont (Le Pen). Polls close at 8 p.m., local time. A Louvre courtyard where Macron’s election party is scheduled was evacuated briefly amid security concerns. Le Pen’s party is at the Chalet du Lac restaurant in the Bois de Vincennes in eastern Paris.

Watch the results as they come in here.

Whoever wins will mark a first for France: Macron would be the youngest president ever elected while Le Pen would be the first woman.

Read: Wife Of Center-Right Candidate Francois Fillon Formally Accused Of Fraud

Oddsmaker Betfair gave Macron, 39, a former investment banker and economy minister, a better than 90 percent chance of winning although late betting favored Le Pen.

“With the results of the U.S. election and Brexit last year fresh in punters’ minds they are still backing Le Pen, with two thirds of bets coming in for the outsider,” Betfair spokeswoman Naomi Totten told the Telegraph.

“Polling in France is nowhere near as close as it was for Brexit and [Donald] Trump but it would be wise to keep an eye on the market in the early hours to see if we are in for another political upset.”

Read: Francois Fillon Accused Of Paying Wife Government Funds For No-Show Job

The two candidates have starkly different visions for France. Macron is pro-business and a strong supporter of the European Union who wants to deregulate the economy while Le Pen, 48, the daughter of far-right firebrand Marie Le Pen, campaigned on anti-immigration policies and borrowed a page from Trump with a France-first philosophy, advocating for abandonment of the euro and secession from the EU.

"I don't necessarily agree with either of the candidates," psychotherapist Denise Dulliand, who was voting in Annecy in the mountainous southeast, told Reuters.

"But I wanted to express my voice, to be able to say that I came, even if I am really not satisfied with what is happening in our country, and that I would like to see less stupidity, less money and more fraternity."

French unemployment is nearly 10 percent, with 25 percent of those under 25 without jobs. Le Pen wants to cut the retirement age to 60 while Macron wants to cut 120,000 public sector jobs to reduce spending and put the money into investment to reduce joblessness to less than 7 percent.

Like Trump, Le Pen admires Russian President Vladimir Putin while Macron is against rapprochement with Russia.

Belgian newspaper Le Soir predicted Macron will garner 60 percent of the vote with about 65.3 percent of eligible voters participating, the smallest turnout since 1981.

The Telegraph reported as many as 29 percent of voters decided to spoil their ballots rather than vote for either candidate and cited an Ifop poll that indicated large numbers of supporters of conservative Francois Fillon and far-left candidate Jean-Luc Melenchon, who together captured 39.5 percent of the vote in the first round, decided to stay home.

But even being aboard the International Space Station couldn’t stop astronaut Thomas Pesquet from voting.

An 89-year-old voter was determined to make his ballot count. Le Parisien said he collapsed with fatal chest pains in the town of Draveil just after submitting his ballot.

The campaign was roiled by the hacking of Macron’s campaign database. Hundreds of thousands of private emails and documents — some fake — were dumped online during the weekend. Sources told AFP prosecutors are investigating. Officials warned the public and media spreading them could bring criminal charges.

Macron previously accused Russia of targeting him with cyberattacks. Russia denied any role.

Legislative elections are scheduled for June 11 and 18.