Indian PM congratulates Macron on French election win
Xinhua, May 8, 2017 Adjust font size:
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi Monday congratulated Emmanuel Macron who won the presidential election on Sunday.
"Congratulations to @EmmanuelMacron for an emphatic victory in the French Presidential election. #Presidentielle2017. I look forward to working closely with President-elect @EmmanuelMacron to further strengthen India-France ties," Modi tweeted.
A centrist candidate, 39-year-old Macron defeated far-right candidate Marine Le Pen to become the first president from outside the two traditional main parties in the history of the French fifth republic.
In his victory speech, Macron said that a new page was being turned in French history. "I want it to be a page of hope and renewed trust," he said.
A pro-business and a strong supporter of the European Union, Macron left the Socialist government of President François Hollande last August to form his new movement - En Marche - saying that it was neither left nor right wing.
His campaign pledges included a 120,000 reduction in public sector jobs, a cut in public spending by 65 billion U.S. dollars and a lowering of the unemployment rate to below 7 percent. He vowed to ease labor laws and give new protections to the self-employed. Endit