Brussels relieved, London anxious after France elects pro-EU Macron amid Brexit battle

Source: France24:

May 9, 2017 at 12:18

Brussels exhaled a sigh of relief on Sunday with France’s election of Emmanuel Macron, a Europhile poised to breathe new life into Europe and its Franco-German tandem. But with a Brexit battle looming, London is still holding its breath.

In the first hours after his election on Sunday, Macron made clear that France had just elected a heart-on-his-sleeve Europhile. “I will work to mend the ties between Europe and its citizens,” the new president-elect pledged in a speech broadcast nationwide from his campaign headquarters. Later at the Louvre, Beethoven’s “Ode to Joy”, the European Union’s anthem, accompanied Macron’s long walk to the stage to address supporters waving blue and yellow EU flags alongside the French tricolour.

Brussels basked in France’s resounding choice of a pro-EU leader and its massive rejection of Eurosceptic populist spitfire (and European Parliament member) Marine Le Pen. “Happy that the French chose a European future,” EU Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker tweeted. “We have received a vote of confidence from France in the European Union,” EU Parliament chief Antonio Tajani told Agence France-Presse.

Elsewhere in Europe, political leaders of various stripes were keen to emphasise that aspect of Macron’s win. German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s spokesman was quick off the mark to congratulate Macron, adding, “Your victory is a victory for a strong and united Europe and for French-German friendship.”

Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Lofven, a Social Democrat, called the win a “victory for the French people and for European cooperation”. Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, a conservative, tweeted his congratulations, adding, “Let us work in France and Spain for a stable, prosperous and more integrated Europe.” In Greece, leftist PM Alexis Tsipras called Macron’s victory “an inspiration for France and for Europe”.

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