PM Modi once said France and India were made for each other. Not just because Paris has the odd habit of doing something really different and getting away with it.
One of only 4 presidents to be re-elected since 1958, Macron's win triggered angry protests in Paris & Lyon. Macron's majority over far-Right rival Marine Le Pen was halved.
Macron has become the first French president to win re-election since 2002, though with a narrower lead. The French have voted for a France at the heart, not the fringes, of Europe.
The second five-year term for the 44-year-old centrist spared France and Europe the seismic upheaval of having far-right populist Marine Le Pen at the helm.
Macron’s far-right rival Marine Le Pen won 41.8% of the votes in an election that witnessed France’s highest abstention rate in 50 years, according to Ipsos polling institute's estimate.
After Russia's invasion of Ukraine, NATO has activated its response force. Germany, France and others are sending missiles and other weapons systems amid escalation.
Speaking at the One Ocean Summit Friday via video message, PM Modi also invited France in launching a global initiative on eliminating single-use plastic.
The recent resignations of its seniormost judges are among the most pointed institutional protests Pakistan has witnessed since the lawyers’ movement of the late 2000s.
Without a Congress revival, there can be no challenge to the BJP pan-nationally. Modi’s party is growing, and almost entirely at the cost of the Congress.
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