PARIS - Political novice Emmanuel Macron has crushed his right-wing populist opponent to claim the French presidency.
The result has been greeted as a rejection of the recent wave of nationalist politics that has swept through Western democracies.
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Le Pen concedes defeat in French election
Far right populist Marine Le Pen thanks her supporters after early voting indicates her rival Emmanuel Macron will be France's next president.
In the end the 39-year-old centrist won almost twice the number of votes as his opponent Marine Le Pen, former head of the Front National.
However the result was a new high-water mark for the FN in French politics, with some predicting it set the party up for an even stronger showing – and perhaps victory - in five years' time.
![French centrist presidential candidate Emmanuel Macron will be the next president of France after an extraordinary campaign.](/web/20170509005851im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/v/r/l/j/b/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gvzx9j.png/1494198337288.jpg)
Macron campaigned on a pro-European Union platform that mixed free-market economics with liberal social policies.
In a subdued victory speech Macron, set to be France's youngest leader since Napoleon, acknowledged the nation's deep divisions which had "led some to vote for extremist parties – I respect them", he said.
He promised to put all his energy into being "worthy of your trust", and pledged to restore the link between Europe and its citizens.
He would "fight with all my strength against the division that undermines and destroys us".
![A downcast Marine Le Pen makes a statement after being defeated in the second round of the French presidential elections.](/web/20170509005851im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/v/z/x/f/7/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gvzx9j.png/1494202918752.jpg)
His opponent Marine Le Pen said France had "voted for continuity".
But she also said the election had been a "historic and massive result" that had confirmed a major breakdown in French politics, with the elimination of the establishment parties of the Socialists and Republicans in the first round.
![Supporters of Emmanuel Macron kiss as celebrate outside the Louvre museum in Paris.](/web/20170509005851im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/v/z/x/g/n/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gvzx9j.png/1494223917736.jpg)
She said the new division in politics was between "patriots and globalists", and pledged to continue to fight on the side of the patriots, with Front National as the country's main opposition party.
The result was welcomed by world leaders - and one would-be world leader.
![Supporters of Macron react outside the Louvre museum in Paris.](/web/20170509005851im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/v/z/x/h/p/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gvzx9j.png/1494198337288.jpg)
Hillary Clinton tweeted it was a "Victory for Macron, for France, the EU, & the world. Defeat to those interfering w/democracy. (But the media says I can't talk about that)"
It was likely a reference to a massive cyber hack of the Macron campaign in the final days before the election, echoing the hack of the Democrats that damaged Clinton's run for the US presidency.
![Supporters celebrate after Emmanuel Macron is victorious.](/web/20170509005851im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/v/z/x/f/f/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gvzx9j.png/1494202918904.jpg)
EU president Donald Tusk said France had "chosen liberty, equality and brotherhood, and said no to the tyranny of 'fake news'."
And Norway's foreign minister Borge Brende said it was a "crystal clear and historic result against nationalism, populism and protectionism".
![Parisians react Emmanuel Macron react the win.](/web/20170509005851im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/v/z/x/b/t/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gvzx9j.png/1494198337288.jpg)
One of the first world leaders to congratulate Macron was German chancellor Angela Merkel, in a conversation that insiders described as "warm".
The former investment banker, a virtual political unknown a year ago, appealed to middle-ground voters weary of the two-party duopoly.
![Emmanuel Macron greets well-wishers as he leaves the polling station.](/web/20170509005851im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/v/z/x/9/h/image.related.articleLeadNarrow.300x0.gvzx9j.png/1494198337288.jpg)
His eventual victory was even more convincing than pre-election polls, which had for months consistently predicted a 60:40 defeat of Le Pen by Macron.
His was the second-biggest victory in a French presidential vote since 1965.
An analysis of vote movement between the two rounds of the election showed that Macron picked up more votes than Le Pen from most of their defeated first round opponents. He also mobilised a significant number of abstainers from the first round to cast a vote in his favour.
However almost a quarter of registered voters did not cast a vote – the highest abstention rate since 1969.
Macron now faces a battle to cement his power base in next month's National Assembly elections, seeking control of the country's parliament with his newborn En Marche! movement.
France's establishment parties, especially the Republicans, will seek to curtail his power by gaining a majority in the Assembly, forcing Macron to choose a prime minister from their ranks.
Voters told French media they were very happy the election was coming to an end – and many of those who voted for Macron said they had come out to vote because they feared the consequences of a Le Pen presidency, rather than feeling inspired by Macron's pro-Europe, free-market policies.
"I'm feeling anxious but I tell myself if I don't do my part and have faith in the future of the country we would risk going down a destructive path for the country," one voter told France 24.
Current president Francois Hollande, the first in modern France not to seek re-election, will officially transfer power next Sunday.
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