Prime Minister Erna Solberg and Labour Party leader Jonas Gahr Støre, head of the opposition in the Norwegian Parliament, were among those sending congratulations to the newly elected president of France, Emmanuel Macron. Both were clearly relieved that the leader of the right-wing National Front, Marine Le Pen, did not win, and wound up with just around 34 percent of the vote.
That compared to Macron’s roughly 66 percent of the vote, a strong mandate to carry out his promised efforts to build up a strong France and a strong EU. “We need more than ever a strong and unified Europe to solve Europe’s common challenges,” Solberg told news bureau NTB.
Solberg echoed the remarks of German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who also was relieved and called Macron’s victory “a victory for a strong EU.”
Støre, who studied at Sciences Po in Paris and speaks fluent French, wrote his congratulations to Macron in French. “Une belle victoire,” he tweeted, adding that Europe “needs a France that’s successful” in reforming and unifying its society.
newsinenglish.no staff
