<h5>What’s so important about the recent French Presidential Elections?</h5>  <p>France is a beautiful country in Europe. It’s famous for the Eiffel Tower and is an extremely popular vacation destination. The French Presidential Elections took place recently. The whole world had its eyes set on who the next president of France would be. But, what made this election so important?</p>
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<p>The Russia-Ukraine war has been going on for quite some time now. The European Union (EU), including France, has been supporting Ukraine through this hard time. Except, this election could have changed that. </p>
<p>Both candidates contesting the French elections had completely opposing viewpoints on the Russia-Ukraine war. France’s decision on whom to support in the war (being the strongest military power in the EU since Brexit) would have greatly affected the future of the world.
</p> <h5>Let’s meet the contestants - Macron and Le Pen.</h5>  <p>Emmanuel Macron is a banker turned politician who became France’s youngest-ever president (when he was only 39!) in 2017. In France, a new president is elected once every five years. So, 2022 was his second time running for the French elections.</p>
<p>Macron is a secular man and is a business-oriented leader who wants to make France an economic powerhouse. He has received criticism for his pro-business policies, which many think help big corporations over employees. He also wants to raise the retirement age in France, from 62 to 65 years, which has made French people unhappy.</p>
<p>Marine Le Pen is a lawyer turned politician who stood for the French elections twice. Though she’s lost each time, she’s received a higher number of votes each time she’s run for President. Her popularity in France is at an all-time high, though not as high as Macron.</p>
<p>Le Pen supports workers’ rights over companies. She wants to reduce income tax, increase the salaries of many employees and provide affordable housing to French citizens. She also wants to prevent outsiders from permanently living in France and wants to ban Muslim women from wearing headscarves in public.
</p> <h5>Who’s on which side of the war?</h5>  <p>Emmanuel Macron supports Ukraine and its President Volodymyr Zelensky. He’s vocal about wanting the EU to provide Ukraine with military equipment and take in refugees fleeing the war.</p>
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<p>Marine Le Pen is a supporter of Vladimir Putin, the Russian President who started the war against Ukraine. Like Emmanuel Macron, she too is critical of the war but says that she admires Putin’s policies.</p>
<p>Currently, France is a leader of NATO. Le Pen wants France to step down from this position. Earlier she wanted France to leave the EU altogether, just like Brexit. Now she isn’t gunning for that but wants to stop military cooperation with other big countries in the EU.
</p> <h5>Tell me who won the French election!</h5>  <p>Macron won with 58 percent of the votes. Le Pen received 42 percent. No President has won a second term in France in the last twenty years, so this is a huge win for Macron. But he received fewer votes this time around than the last time he ran for office.</p>
<p>NATO countries and the EU have breathed a sigh of relief that a pro-Ukraine leader has been elected. However, French people are somewhat distrustful of Macron and his pro-business policies. Despite this, they are willing to give him another chance.
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Why was the world watching the French Presidential Elections? Who were the contestants and who won? Let’s find out.

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The French Presidential Elections

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