PARIS (voa) – French President Jacques Chirac has thanked French voters — saying the country has reaffirmed its commitment to republican values by re-electing him in a landslide victory over right-wing opponent Jean-Marie Le Pen.
With about 90 percent of the national vote counted, France’s Interior Ministry reported late Sunday that Mr. Chirac had won 81.6 percent of the vote, and Mr. Le Pen gathered about 18 percent. It was the largest victory margin by any French president in the last 44 years.
Thousands of demonstrators took to the streets of Paris to celebrate Mr. Chirac’s win. In a victory speech, Mr. Chirac said he understood the call for change in France and promised to immediately address the issue of rising crime, a top voter concern.
Voter turnout was about 80 percent, four times the number that turned out for Mr. Le Pen’s shocking success in the first round of voting two weeks ago that sparked massive protests and rallied parties from across the political spectrum behind the president.
In conceding defeat, Mr. Le Pen said that President Chirac had won re-election by, what he called, “Soviet methods”.
He also called the results a defeat for the hopes of the French and predicted that Mr. Chirac’s coalition will soon collapse.
