France: The Unrelenting Rise of the Le Pen Vote

Emmanuele Macron has won the second round of the French presidential election against Marine Le Pen. With 58.6 percent according to the preliminary final results, the incumbent is well ahead of his right-wing challenger. But the gap has narrowed compared to 2017 (and even more so since 2002), as a look at this Statista infographic shows. Back then, Le Pen came in at around 34 percent. Five years later, 13.3 million French people have given their vote to the leader of the Rassemblement National (National Rally) - that corresponds to a share of 41.5 percent.

This shows how great the discontent is in the country. Accordingly, the re-elected president expects a tough task ahead: "An answer must be found to the anger and disagreements that led many of our compatriots to vote for the extreme right," Macron said in his victory speech, adding: "It will be my responsibility and that of those around me."