Head of French Catholic bishops welcomes Macron's election

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has congratulated Emmanuel Macron on his emphatic victory in the French presidential election, expressing hope that the relations between the two countries would further deepen in line with their common interests.

"He's a symbol of hope", said Jean-Luc Songtia, a 36-year-old driver.

In her speech, Stephanie Rivoal the France Ambassador to Uganda said by electing Macron-a man who was not known three years ago France has surprised the world again by electing the second youngest President in the world since Napoleon in 1804 but faces the great challenge of reunifying the French people.

The result will resonate worldwide and particularly in Brussels and Berlin where leaders will breathe a sigh of relief at the defeat of Le Pen's anti-EU, anti-globalisation programme.

It said the leaked data had been "fraudulently" obtained and that fake news has probably been mingled in with it.

However, leaders of France's pro-family "La Manif Pour Tous" movement, whose nationwide protests against same-sex marriage, assisted suicide and other liberal changes have been supported by some Catholic bishops, warned citizens that Macron would "continue the anti-family policy" of Hollande. "We look forward to working with him to build on the strong relationship between the U.S. and France". Other indexes across Europe were also trading lower, while the euro, which briefly hit a six-month high above $1.10 overnight, was down 0.5 percent at $1.0942. "They have been victims of many wars dating back in Europe", he said.

After ditching France's traditional left-right main political parties in a first-round election, voters are now choosing between Macron's business-friendly, pro-European vision and Le Pen's protectionist, closed-borders view that resonates with workers left behind by globalization. She met with Putin weeks before the election.

The result wasn't close - Macron had 64 per cent support with about 90 per cent of votes counted.

After the most closely watched and unpredictable French presidential campaign in recent memory, many voters rejected the runoff choices altogether - casting blank or spoiled ballots in record numbers Sunday.

Macron must tackle formidable challenges as he attempts to enact his domestic agenda of cutting state spending, easing labour laws, boosting education in deprived areas and extending new protections to the self-employed.

"In order for us to act, we will need a majority in the National Assembly", En Marche secretary general Richard Ferrand told TF1 television, adding that only "half of the journey" had been completed. "A minority of registered voters voted for Macron", Russian state news agency RIA Novosti announced, calculating that Macron had won 44 percent of all the registered voters in France, and pointing to regions where he had performed less well.

He also inherits a country still in a state of emergency following a string of Islamist-inspired attacks since 2015 that have killed more than 230 people.

His first ceremonial duty comes on Monday when he appears alongside outgoing Socialist President Francois Hollande in Paris to commemorate the Nazi capitulation on May 8, 1945. The people of France will not take much more of this. One of his most unsafe opponents, conservative former Prime Minister Francois Fillon, was vilified after allegations that his family benefited from cushy taxpayer-funded jobs for years.