Theresa May congratulates Emmanuel Macron on French presidential victory

Macron - Liewig Christian/ABACA/PA

Theresa May has called Emmanuel Macron to congratulate him on being voted in as France’s new president. 

The former economy minister comfortably defeated Front National’s Marine Le Pen in the second round of the presidential election.

He has held a number of phone calls with other national leaders, including German chancellor Angela Merkel and May.

RELATED CONTENT

Theresa May seeks a green light for a reckless Brexit and a hard-right Britain

Scottish local government election 2017 results

In their talks, they discussed Brexit, Downing Street revealed.

A spokesperson said: “This evening the Prime Minister spoke to president-elect Macron to warmly congratulate him on his election victory.

"The Prime Minister said she looked forward to working with the new president on a range of shared issues, with the UK and France’s unique partnership providing a strong foundation for future co-operation.

“The leaders briefly discussed Brexit and the Prime Minister reiterated that the UK wants a strong partnership with a secure and prosperous EU once we leave.

“The Prime Minister and President-elect Macron looked forward to meeting and holding discussions at the upcoming Nato and G7 summits.”

Tony Blair, with whom Mr Macron has been compared, was among the other UK politicians to hail the former banker’s victory.

He said the centrist, pro-EU and pro-globalisation platform on which Mr Macron stood was a lesson for parties across Europe.

“I congratulate Emmanuel Macron on a superlative victory which is great news for France and Europe,” said Mr Blair.

“His campaign and the substantial majority he achieved, shows that the centre ground is alive and kicking and the place where elections can still be fought and won by progressive politics. Well done Emmanuel!”

Meanwhile, former Ukip leader and now radio presenter Nigel Farage, who was supporting far-right candidate Ms Le Pen, claimed the election result meant “five more years of failure, power to the EU and open borders” – and predicted the Front National leader could win next time around.