France: Protest In Central Paris Against Macron's Win, President Vows Response To 'Anger, Disagreements'

The second-time French President defeated far-right leader Marine Le Pen in a runoff vote earlier on Sunday while preventing what was seen as a major political shift in Europe.

French President Emmanuel Macron celebrates his re-election at the Champ de Mars near the Eiffel Tower on April 24, 2022 in Paris, France.

Source : Jean Catuffe/Getty Images

New Delhi: After French President Emmanuel Macron on Sunday secured a second presidential term, demonstrators in central Paris protested against the centrist leader's win.

Riot police charged and sprayed teargas on protestors in central Paris, news agency Reuters reported citing visuals on social media.

As per the agency, a crowd of mostly young people had gathered in the central neighborhood of Chatelet to protest. Images on Twitter showed police trying to break up the crowd.

Notably, amid discontent expressed by far-right leader Marine Le Pen's supports, the French President Emmanuel Macron on Sunday vowed to find a response to their anger.

He said his new term would not continue unchanged from the last five years.

"An answer must be found to the anger and disagreements that led many of our compatriots to vote for the extreme right. It will be my responsibility and that of those around me," Macron told a victory rally in front of the Eiffel Tower as projections showed he had been re-elected, news agency AFP reported.

Macron promised a "renewed method" to govern France, saying that this "new era" would not be one of "continuity with the last term which is now ending".

The second-time French President defeated far-right leader Marine Le Pen in a runoff vote earlier on Sunday while preventing what was seen as a major political shift in Europe.

As per AFP, even as Macron won by a comfortable margin, the abstention rate was expected to settle at the highest since 1969 as a substantial chunk of voters were unwilling to vote for either Macron or Le Pen.

Previously, students protested outside the Sorbonne in Paris and other universities, between the first round of voting and Sunday's runoff, expressing their disillusionment with the choice on offer.