The victory — as well as that of liberal Robert Golob in Slovenia’s general election, where he beat three-time prime minister and populist conservative Janez Jansa — is seen as bad news for Russian president Vladimir Putin and a major win for the EU.

In defeating far-right contender Marine Le Pen by a projected 59% to 41%, Macron dealt a clinical blow to growing nationalist forces across Europe, but is still left with a battle on his hands to truly win the hearts of the French people.

By making the election more about the dangers of a Le Pen presidency rather than his own abilities or successes while in power, Macron now owes a debt to those voters on the left and among France’s working class who voted for him rather than his adversary.

That his victory was much narrower than his previous win over Le Pen indicates waning support for the traditional French republic’s battle cry of “liberté, égalité, fraternité”.

It also means that Macron, despite being the first incumbent to be re-elected to the Élysée Palace in 20 years, will face the prospect of a major challenge emerging from the French legislative elections, which take place in June. Many of those who were lukewarm about voting for him in the presidential election may express their feelings by voting for parties other than Macron’s En Marche party.

If his party were to lose the control it enjoys in the National Assembly to traditional centre-right or centre-left parties, Macron could be faced with an unruly, disobedient parliament. Socialist presidential candidate Jean-Luc Mélenchon, who just fell short of beating Le Pen in the run-offs, has already declared his candidacy for the prime minister’s job, urging voters to allow him to keep the president in check.

Whatever the future holds for Macron, his victory at the weekend will, for now, be regarded as an important — and welcome — achievement, not just for the future of the EU but also in the fight against Russian aggression in Ukraine.