Centrist Emmanuel Macron won the presidential race on Sunday, allowing many French citizens to heave a sigh of relief. But just because he won the race doesn’t mean there isn’t a lot of work for him to do.
In France, the presidential election happens a month before the legislative election. In June, French people will head to the polls once more to vote for their parliament. The first round of voting on June 11 will determine which political parties will have enough support to advance to the second round. Then, on June 18, if Macron’s new party En Marche! (which has only been in existence for a little over a year) does not win a majority of seats in parliament, it could make for a lot of upcoming problems for the new president. It is also possible that there could be a “cohabitation” situation, where the Prime Minister is from a different party than the president.
Since winning the presidency, every speech Macron has given has been an outreach to those who voted for his opponent Marine Le Pen, or only voted for him to stop Le Pen from winning. By promoting a message of unity, Macron is aiming to get people to vote for his party in the legislative elections. After such a tumultuous election, he has his work cut out for him!
Watch Macron address his supporters, and non-supporters, in the video above.