1 NEWS' Europe Correspondent has the latest from Paris as Macron is set to become the new French President in a projected landslide victory.
Like several others, she was anxious that Ms Le Pen, 48, might end up with a surprise win, like how United States President Donald Trump triumphed over the pundits' favourite and Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton in the USA presidential polls last November. "I look very much forward to working with him". President Donald Trump wrote on Twitter. The German chancellor, Angela Merkel, was one of the first to congratulate Mr Macron, welcoming his success as a "victory for Europe".
Hollande's former prime minister Manuel Valls called separately for a broad presidential majority to be built around Macron in legislative elections next month.
Prime Minister Theresa May also discussed Brexit with Macron, saying "the United Kingdom wants a strong partnership with a secure and prosperous European Union once we leave", the spokesman added. The election of a French president who championed European unity could strengthen the EU's hand in its complex divorce proceedings with Britain, which voted past year to leave the bloc.
Mr Macron's victory marks the third time in six months - following elections in Austria and Holland - that European voters shot down far-right populists who wanted to restore borders across Europe.
The run-off vote pits the pro-Europe, pro-business Mr Macron against anti-immigration and anti-EU Ms Le Pen, two radically different visions that underline a split in Western democracies.
There has been no claim of responsibility for the French hack, but the government and Mr Macron's team previously accused the Kremlin of trying to meddle in the election - accusations denied in Moscow. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau tweeted his congratulations saying, "Let's meet soon, and keep working to grow & strengthen the deep ties between Canada and France". "Today, I'm proud to be French".
Mr Macron resigned from the post in August previous year, however, disillusioned by the left and his own struggles against dissidents and trade unions over what he saw as vital changes to France's employment law.
"Congratulations to @EmmanuelMacron, new president of #France. What happened with Trump and Brexit - we don't want this for our country".
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She has also vowed to reduce net immigration to 10,000 people a year, crack down on outsourcing by multinationals, lower the retirement age and introduce hardline measures to tackle Islamic extremists.
"This is a victory for the French people and for European cooperation".
"A new page in our long history is opening tonight".
Centrist candidate Emmanuel Macron has decisively won the French presidential election, projected results say.
Macron would be the youngest French president ever.
Since the French Revolution, the nation has often been viewed as a beacon of democratic ideals.
But the vote also showed that France's 67 million people are deeply divided, riven by anxieties about terrorism and chronic unemployment, anxious about the cultural and economic impact of immigration and fearful of France's ability to compete against giants like China and Google. "Macron will be Juncker's puppet".
"I will fight the divisions that undermine France", he added in a nod to the 11 million votes Le Pen received, a record for the far-right leader. "She is from now on the strongest opposition force against Macron".
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