Emmanuel Macron has beat Marine Le Pen to become President of France, attracting 66 per cent of the vote. Such a comfortable Macron win is in line with what pollsters have been saying for weeks, with most polls saying that the 39-year-old centrist would win with a lead of around 20 points. His final lead, of 32 points, dwarfed even this.
Macron swept the board geographically, with Le Pen winning just two of France's 107 departments. Even in areas that heavily backed the far-right candidate in the first round, such as the north-east of the country and along the Mediterranean coast, voters turned to Macron when it mattered. In the first round of the election, France had a clear East-West divide, with the east of the country backing Marine Le Pen. It was no different in the 2012 presidential election when she failed to reach the second round, with the far-right leader achieving her highest vote shares in the North East of France.