WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — Macron will have to implement his policies and address French citizens’ concerns to prevent the far-right from taking control of the country in future elections, French Ambassador to the United States Gerard Araud said on Tuesday.
"Macron is facing an incredible challenge because if in the coming five years he is not responding to the concerns of our citizens, in five years the far-right may win," Araud said an in interview on CNN International.
Araud said France "dodged a major bullet" by electing Macron because his rival Marine Le Pen wanted to pull the country out of the European Union and the euro, which would have created major economic and political crises.
However, Le Pen has already vowed to transform her National Front party, while Macron, the first independent candidate to win the presidency, ran under his own movement called En Marche! and has no political party.
Former French Prime Minister Manuel Valls backed Macron on Tuesday, saying he wants to stand in the June parliamentary election as as En Marche! candidate.
