UPDATE 3 - French President Emmanuel Macron wins 2nd term in office

ADDS RESULTS FROM INTERIOR MINISTRY

By Ahmet Gurhan Kartal

PARIS (AA) - Emmanuel Macron has won a second term as French president, according to the full results released by the Interior Ministry on Sunday’s run-off election.

Macron, the candidate of his La Republique En Marche! Party, received 58.6% or 18,779,809 votes.

Turnout was 72.37%, according to the ministry, the lowest since 1969.

Macron entered a special area prepared for his speech in front of the Eiffel Tower accompanied by Beethoven’s Ode to Joy.

“Merci,” he began, thanking his followers in his victory speech.

“A majority of you have chosen to place your confidence in me for another five years,” he said, adding, “I know what I owe you.”

“After five years of transformations, happy and difficult hours, this day of April 24, a majority of you have chosen to trust me to preside over our Republic for the next five years.

“I know that many of our compatriots voted for me today not to support the ideas I hold, but to block those of the far right. I want to thank them here and tell them that I am aware that their vote binds me for years to come,” he said.

“Today, you have chosen a humanist project, ambitious for the independence of our country, for Europe, ambitious in its values, social and ecological, a project based on work and creation.

“This project, I want to carry it with force for the years to come, taking into account the opposition that has been expressed and with respect for differences.”

- ‘We have so much to do’

Macron acknowledged the “disappointment” of Marine Le Pen’s supporters but added that he is “the president for all.”

“We have so much to do,” he continued.

“The war in Ukraine is there to remind us that we are going through tragic times when France must show the clarity of its voice and build its strength in all areas, and we will do it,” he said.

“No one will be left by the wayside.”

“This new era will not be the continuity of the five-year term that is ending,” he noted.

The candidate of the far-right National Rally, Le Pen, received 41.4% or 13,297,728 votes, the highest number in her presidential bids.

With Sunday’s results, Macron has become the third French president ever to win two consecutive terms after Jacque Chirac and Francois Mitterrand.

The official results of the final round of the presidential election will be released on April 27.