Macron wins election but Le Pen’s far right goes mainstream

Marine Le Pen's far-right National Rally party has surpassed 40 percent of the vote [File: Yves Herman/Reuters]

Centrist pro-European Emmanuel Macron has been re-elected as France’s next president, but the impressive gains made by the far right have revealed a deeply divided nation.

Marine Le Pen, Macron’s main challenger, garnered more than 40 percent vote, showing that the far right has gone mainstream in France.