France's Macron wins second term, defeats far-right leader
Paris(AP): French President Emmanuel Macron comfortably won reelection to a second term Sunday, triggering relief among allies that the nuclear-armed power won't abruptly shift course in the midst of the war in Ukraine from European Union and NATO efforts to punish and contain Russia's military expansionism.
The second five-year term for the 44-year-old centrist spared France and Europe from the seismic upheaval of having firebrand populist Marine Le Pen at the helm, Macron's presidential runoff challenger who quickly conceded defeat but was still on course for her best-ever electoral showing.
Acknowledging that numerous voters cast ballots for him simply to keep out the fiercely nationalist far-right Le Pen, Macron pledged to reunite the country that is filled with so many doubts, so many divisions and work to assuage the anger of French voters that fed Le Pen's campaign.
"No one will be left by the side of the road," Macron said in a victory speech against the backdrop of the Eiffel Tower and a projection of the blue-white-and-red tricolour French flag. He was cheered by several hundred supporters who happily waved French and EU flags.
"We have a lot to do and the war in Ukraine reminds us that we are going through tragic times where France must make its voice heard," Macron said.
During her campaign, Le Pen pledged to dilute French ties with the 27-nation EU, NATO and Germany, moves that would have shaken Europe's security architecture as the continent deals with its worst conflict since World War II. Le Pen also spoke out against EU sanctions on Russian energy supplies and faced scrutiny during the campaign over her previous friendliness with the Kremlin.
A chorus of European leaders hailed Macron's victory, since France has played a leading role in international efforts to punish Russia with sanctions and is supplying weapons to Ukraine. Democracy wins, Europe wins," said Spanish Prime Minister Pedro S nchez.
Together we will make France and Europe advance," tweeted European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
Italian Premier Mario Draghi hailed Macron's victory as splendid news for all of Europe and a boost to the EU "being a protagonist in the greatest challenges of our times, starting with the war in Ukraine.
Ukrainian President Volodymy Zelenskyy called Macron a true friend of Ukraine on Sunday and expressed appreciation for his support.
Tweeting in French, Zelenskyy said: I'm convinced that we will advance together toward new joint victories. Toward a strong and united Europe!
With more than four-fifths of votes counted, Macron was leading 56% to 44% for Le Pen. Polling agencies projected that once all votes were counted, Macron's margin of victory would be well above 10 points, although that would be much closer than when they first faced off in 2017.
Macron is the first French president in 20 years to win reelection, since incumbent Jacques Chirac trounced Le Pen's father in 2002. Le Pen called her results a shining victory, saying that in this defeat, I can't help but feel a form of hope.
Breaking through the threshold of 40% of the vote is unprecedented for the French far-right. Le Pen was beaten 66% to 34% by Macron in 2017 and her father got less than 20% against Chirac.
She and hard-left leader Jean-Luc Melenchon, one of 10 candidates eliminated in the first round on April 10, both quickly pitched forward Sunday night to France's legislative election in June, urging voters to give them a parliamentary majority to hamstring Macron.
Le Pen's score this time rewarded her years-long efforts to make her far-right politics more palatable to voters. Campaigning hard on cost-of-living issues, she made deep inroads among blue-collar voters in disaffected rural communities and in former industrial centers.
Le Pen voter Jean-Marie Cornic, 78, said he cast his ballot for her because he wanted a president who would prioritize our daily lives salaries, taxes, pensions.
The drop in support for Macron compared to five years ago points to a tough battle ahead for the president to rally people behind him in his second term. Many French voters found the 2022 presidential rematch less compelling than in 2017, when Macron was an unknown factor.
Leftist voters -- unable to identify with either the centrist president or Le Pen -- agonized with Sunday's choice. Some trooped reluctantly to polling stations solely to stop Le Pen, casting joyless votes for Macron.
It was the least worst choice, said Stephanie David, a transport logistics worker who backed a communist candidate in round one.
It was an impossible choice for retiree Jean-Pierre Roux. Having also voted communist in round one, he dropped an empty envelope into the ballot box on Sunday, repelled both by Le Pen's politics and what he saw as Macron's arrogance.
I am not against his ideas but I cannot stand the person, Roux said. In contrast, Marian Arbre, voting in Paris, cast his ballot for Macron to avoid a government that finds itself with fascists, racists.
There's a real risk, the 29-year-old fretted.
Macron went into the vote with a sizeable lead in polls but faced a fractured, anxious and tired electorate. The war in Ukraine and the COVID-19 pandemic battered Macron's first term, as did months of violent protests against his economic policies.
In celebrating victory, Macron acknowledged a debt to voters who helped get him over the line, not to support the ideas I hold, but to block those of the extreme right.
I want to thank them and tell them that I am aware that their vote obliges me for the years to come, he said. "I am the custodian of their sense of duty, of their attachment to the Republic.
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Tension grips Bangladesh after unrest over uprising leader’s death; vandalism at several places
Dhaka (PTI): Bangladesh interim government on Friday urged citizens to resist violence by “a few fringe elements” as the body of a prominent July Uprising leader, who died in Singapore six days after he was shot, reached the capital.
Various parts of the country were rocked Thursday night by attacks and vandalism, including stone-hurling at the Assistant Indian High Commissioner's residence in Chattogram, after Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus confirmed Sharif Osman Hadi's death in a televised address to the nation.
There were, however, no reports of fresh violence since Friday morning.
Hadi, one of the leaders who had taken part in the student-led protests last year – termed as July Uprising - and a candidate for the scheduled February 12 general elections, died while undergoing treatment at a Singapore hospital six days after he was shot by unidentified men.
Body of Hadi, who was the spokesperson of the Inqilab Mancha, arrived at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport (HSIA) at around 6 pm on a Biman Bangladesh Airlines flight, amid tight security and widespread public mourning, state-run news agency Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha (BSS) said quoting Biman General Manager (Public Relations) Boshra Islam.
Members of the Bangladesh Army, Armed Forces Battalion (AFB) and police were deployed in large numbers to maintain security when Hadi's body was taken out of the airport, it added.
Hadi's passing away at the Singapore General Hospital triggered widespread mourning across political circles, activists of Inqilab Mancha and the general public, BSS said.
Yunus has declared a one-day state mourning on Saturday following Hadi's death.
Earlier on Thursday, soon after Yunus' announcement, protesters took to the streets and attacked offices of leading newspapers, vandalised 32 Dhanmandi with hammers, and also demolished an office of deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina's disbanded Awami League party in Rajshahi city.
Regarded as the centre point of Bangladesh’s pre-independence struggle for autonomy for decades, 32 Dhanmandi was largely demolished with excavators on February 5 this year. It was also set on fire soon after the August 5, 2024 fall of the then Awami League government and Hasina fleeing to India.
Protesters also hurled bricks and stones at the residence of the Assistant Indian High Commissioner in Chattogram at 1:30 am, but failed to cause any damage.
Police responded with tear gas and baton charges, dispersing the crowd and detaining 12 protesters. A few injuries were also reported.
Senior officials assured the assistant high commissioner of enhanced security.
In Dhaka, protesters attacked the office of a leading cultural group, Chhayanaut, and brought out the furniture, setting it on fire.
Sporadic violence was also reported from other parts of the country overnight.
Meanwhile, after the flight from Singapore landed in Dhaka, local media reports and videos shared on social media showed Hadi's followers lining up on both sides of the road from the airport to Shahbagh to receive him before his coffin was brought to the Dhaka University Central Mosque for a public meeting.
In a Facebook post, Inqilab Mancha announced that a janaza will be held in Bangladesh on Saturday after Zuhr prayers (afternoon) at Manik Mia Avenue in the capital.
Hadi was shot in the head last week by masked gunmen as he initiated his election campaign at central Dhaka’s Bijoynagar area. He died while undergoing treatment at a Singapore hospital after fighting for his life for six days.
On Thursday night, the National Citizen Party (NCP), a large offshoot of Students Against Discrimination (SAD) that led the July Uprising, which ousted the Hasina-led government, joined a mourning procession on the Dhaka University campus.
Supporters of the group chanted anti-India slogans alleging that Hadi’s assailants fled to India after committing the murder. They called upon the interim government to close the Indian high commission until they were returned.
“The interim government, until India returns assassins of Hadi Bhai, the Indian High Commission to Bangladesh will remain closed. Now or Never. We are in a war!” said Sarjis Alm, a key leader of NCP.
Starting Thursday through night, a group of people, believed to be part of the protesters, also attacked the offices of Bangla newspaper Prothom Alo’s office and the nearby Daily Star at the capital's Karwan Bazar, near the Shahbagh intersection.
Reports said they vandalised several floors while journalists and staff of the newspaper were trapped inside, and the mob ignited a fire in front of the building.
Critically ill former prime minister Khaleda Zia's Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) strongly condemned the vandalism and said that the Yunus-led interim government will have to shoulder its responsibility.
In his address on Thursday, Yunus vowed to bring those involved in Hadi's brutal murder to justice quickly, saying, “No leniency will be shown” to the killers.
“I sincerely call upon all citizens – keep your patience and restraint,” he said.
“No one can stop the democratic progress of this country through threat, terrorist activities or bloodshed,” he said, adding that the responsibility of realising Hadi's dream lies on the shoulders of the entire.
