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Xi, Putin congratulate Macron on re-election
Macron is the first French president in two decades to win a second term, and is set to begin efforts to unite a deeply divided nation after a battle that saw the far right come its closest yet to taking power.
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French President Emmanuel Macron (left) and Chinese President Xi Jinping shake hands after a joint press briefing at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Jan. 9, 2018. (Agence France -Presse/Mark Schiefelbein/Pool)
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hina President Xi Jinping congratulated his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron over his re-election on Monday, adding to world leaders' well-wishes after the defeat of far-right leader Marine Le Pen at the polls.
Macron is the first French president in two decades to win a second term, and is set to begin efforts to unite a deeply divided nation after a battle that saw the far right come its closest yet to taking power.
AFP also reported Russian leader Vladimir Putin also congratulates Macron, and wishes him 'success'.
Meanwhile, European stock index futures sank over 1 percent on Monday as nerves around rapid US interest rate hikes and tech earnings this week overshadowed cheer from French President Emmanuel Macron's election victory.
By 0605 GMT, futures for the Euro STOXX 50 slumped 1.7 percent. France's CAC 40 index futures dropped 1.5 percent and German DAX futures fell 1.7 percent.
The euro got a brief bump after Sunday's election results showed pro-EU centrist Macron in the lead, reassuring markets about France's commitment to an integrated Europe even if his economic platform now depends on parliamentary elections in June.
France's blue-chip outperformed the wider STOXX 600 index over the past two weeks on hopes of Macron's re-election, but his relatively small poll lead over Le Pen, who favours nationalising key industries and slashing taxes, had kept investors on edge earlier.
Elsewhere, Asian stocks fell the most in two weeks after major Wall Street indexes slumped over 2.5 percent on Friday as investors priced in aggressive actions by the US Federal Reserve to tame inflation.
