France Elects a Pro-European Union President

 

Observers are saying Emmanuel Macron’s election as president of France is a victory for Europe.

The election was not close. Macron received 66 percent of the vote compared to Marine¹ Le Pen’s 34 percent.

The president of the European Commission congratulated Macron on Twitter. “Happy that the French have chosen a European future,” he tweeted.

A spokesman for Germany’s Chancellor² Angela Merkel called the result a “victory for a strong and united Europe”.

Le Pen, the National Front candidate, had said during the campaign that she would withdraw France from the European Union. She also opposed open immigration policies and called for tough measures against terrorism and crime.

The final, run-off election took place two weeks after 11 candidates competed in the first round of the presidential election.

For the first time, none of France’s traditional parties were represented in the final vote. Socialist³ President Francois Hollande chose not to seek another term in office.

Macron served in Hollande’s Socialist administration. But he started his own movement called En Marche! last year.

Ben Haddad, a French analyst⁴ with the Hudson Institute in Washington D.C., says the 39-year-old president-elect represents a number of firsts for France.

“This is the youngest French president ever who was virtually unknown three years ago, created his own movement from scratch just a year ago, and is winning in (a) landslide⁵ with an optimistic, reform-oriented, pro-European, liberal message.”

Haddad told VOA that the election showed that the two main political parties in France did not find public support in this election. He said French voters are expecting something new.

Macron has called for reforms to France’s economy including its job market to deal with the country’s high unemployment. He also called for reform of the EU.

However, he will need to build support in the French legislature where his movement currently has no representation. Macron has no experience as an elected official.

France stays pro-Europe

Macron, however, has strongly supported the EU.

European officials considered the French election very important because of Britain’s vote to leave the EU in June 2016. France is a founding member of the European Union and is the second largest country remaining in it after Germany.

If France left the EU, it might signal the end of the huge multinational⁶ organization.

The vote brought to an end one of France’s most divisive presidential campaigns.

Marine Le Pen quickly conceded the election on Sunday. But, she promised to continue efforts to get voters to fight globalization and an open immigration policy.

She promised to oppose the new president’s policies in the upcoming elections for the legislature in June.

Le Pen led the National Front, a conservative party started by her father. In Sunday’s vote, she received a little more than one third of the votes cast.

However, she received a much higher percentage than her father Jean-Marie Le Pen who ran for president in 2002.

Marine Le Pen ousted⁷ her father from the National Front because of his extreme views. During the campaign she stepped down as party leader in an effort to increase her appeal.

Fewer voters took part in the election than expected, possibly because of anger over the combative⁸ campaign and traditional politics. French officials said 4 million people submitted blank votes.

Although Macron has won a big victory, he still faces critics both inside and outside the country.

Britain’s Nigel Farage led the campaign to leave the EU in his country. He said Macron’s victory will guarantee that Le Pen will win in the next election in 2022. He said the French are not ready to leave the EU, but one day they will.

Words in This Story

run-off election –n. a second election between the top vote-getters after an election in which no candidate received a majority

virtually –adv. very nearly, almost completely

from scratch –idiom from nothing

landslide –n. overwhelming,

blank –adj. without writing

1 marine   

adj.海的；海生的；航海的；海事的；n.水兵

参考例句：

• Marine creatures are those which live in the sea. 海洋生物是生存在海里的生物。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

2 chancellor   

n.(英)大臣；法官；(德、奥)总理；大学校长

参考例句：

• They submitted their reports to the Chancellor yesterday.他们昨天向财政大臣递交了报告。
• He was regarded as the most successful Chancellor of modern times.他被认为是现代最成功的财政大臣。

3 socialist   

n.社会主义者；adj.社会主义的

参考例句：

• China is a socialist country,and a developing country as well.中国是一个社会主义国家，也是一个发展中国家。
• His father was an ardent socialist.他父亲是一个热情的社会主义者。

4 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

5 landslide   

n.(竞选中)压倒多数的选票；一面倒的胜利

参考例句：

• Our candidate is predicated to win by a landslide.我们的候选人被预言将以绝对优势取胜。
• An electoral landslide put the Labour Party into power in 1945.1945年工党以压倒多数的胜利当选执政。

6 multinational   

adj.多国的，多种国籍的；n.多国籍公司，跨国公司

参考例句：

• The firm was taken over by a multinational consulting firm.这家公司被一个跨国咨询公司收购。
• He analyzed the relationship between multinational corporations and under-developed countries.他分析了跨国公司和不发达国家之间的关系。

7 ousted   

驱逐( oust的过去式和过去分词 )； 革职； 罢黜； 剥夺

参考例句：

• He was ousted as chairman. 他的主席职务被革除了。
• He may be ousted by a military takeover. 他可能在一场军事接管中被赶下台。

8 combative   

adj.好战的；好斗的

参考例句：

• Mr. Obama has recently adopted a more combative tone.奥巴马总统近来采取了一种更有战斗性的语调。
• She believes that women are at least as combative as are.她相信女性至少和男性一样好斗。