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Voters disappointed by Macron still backed him. Now he owes them.

By James McAuley

24 Apr 2022 · 4 min read

Emmanuel Macron has been reelected as France's president - and the world can breathe a sigh of relief.

True catastrophe has been averted, which is not at all hyperbolic to say. Macron's opponent, Marine Le Pen, is the bête noire of European politics: a far-right ideologue who has advocated a "strategic rapprochement" with Vladimir Putin, just as Russia continues its brutal assault on Ukraine. Thanks to her father, Jean-Marie Le Pen, she's also the heir to a very French tradition of antisemitism, Holocaust denial and unhinged Islamophobia, although she's recently softened her tone and walked back some of her most outlandish proposals.

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