In April 2017 voters cast their ballots in the first round of the presidential election The two candidates with the most votes would move on to the final round Macron came in first with nearly 24 percent Marine Le Pen was a close second Macron was an independent and a centrist He wanted to unite the French people He also wanted to improve France's relationship with the European Union EU This is a group of European nations that work together on shared issues Many French citizens were divided over high unemployment and immigration Recent terror attacks had scared the nation Some citizens thought stricter immigration laws would prevent future attacks They hoped limits on immigration would also create jobs for the French people Le Pen represented the National Front a party that promotes nationalism Unlike Macron Le Pen
The race between Macron and Marine Le Pen caused a divide between French voters was an experienced politician She had placed third in the 2012 presidential election Le Pen wanted France to leave the EU She also wanted to limit the number of immigrants entering France On May 7 2017 voters made their choice Macron won 66 percent of the votes He easily defeated Le Pen A week later he took office as president of France At 39 years old he became the youngest president in French history
PARIS
CHAPTER 2 LIFE BEFORE POLITICS Emmanuel Macron was born in Amiens France in 1977 He was the first of three children His parents and siblings are all doctors He was the only one in his family who didn't go into medicine Emmanuel studied science in high school But when he went to college he changed his focus He studied public service at the Paris Institute of Political Sciences or Sciences Po In 2001 he earned a graduate degree in public policy According to one of his teachers at Sciences Po Emmanuel often led class debates
