The victory of Emmanuel Macron in France’s presidential election is excellent news for France and Europe, it changes the face of French politics and crucially signals yet another defeat for right-wing, populist, Eurosceptic policies.

Macron got 66.1 per cent of the vote compared to 33.9 per cent for far-right anti-EU candidate Marie Le Pen, which is a landslide victory.

He campaigned on a pro-EU, internationalist, pro-business and economic reform platform, and he was openly supportive of France’s traditionally liberal values. He was, however, also the candidate of change, and put forward a positive message of hope which struck a chord with French voters.

Macron’s victory, which follows similar pro-EU wins in Austria and The Netherlands (and which will be followed by one in Germany in September) is another sign that the populist tide in Europe is turning and is especially encouraging after last year’s very unfortunate Brexit vote as well as Donald Trump’s shock triumph in the US.

The centrist’s victory in this crucial election has given hope to pro-Europeans and shows that it is indeed possible to defeat the populists by appealing to voters’ intelligence, logic and rational thought and by directly challenging the politics of fear.

Unlike British and American voters, who voted for Brexit and Trump, French voters proved to be mature and level-headed in this election. The irony, of course, is that not only is France’s economy in far worse shape than Britain’s or America’s, but the threat of jihadist terrorism is far greater in Paris than it is in London or Washington, yet French voters overwhelmingly rejected the politics of populism, and they deserve credit for this.

This election has without doubt created a political earthquake in France. For the first time since the establishment of the Fifth Republic in 1958, neither of the candidates of the mainstream political parties of the centre-right (Republicans) and centre-left (Socialists) were represented in the second round election, having been defeated in the first round. Both these parties must now undergo a soul searching exercise; their next test will come when the country goes to the polls in legis­lative elections in June.

However, what is really extraordinary is that Macron only set up his new political centrist movement, En Marche! (Onwards!), a year ago after resigning as a Socialist minister, yet he was elected President last week. True, he was lucky to a certain extent that François Fillon, the centre-right candidate – who was originally the front-runner in this election – was embroiled in corruption allegations and consequently did not make it to the second round.

Unlike British and American voters, who voted for Brexit and Trump, French voters proved to be mature and level-headed in this election

Macron was also lucky that his opponent in the second round was Le Pen, who the polls always showed could not win the presidency. The split in the left-wing vote in the first round – between the Socialist Party candidate Benoît Hamon and far-left candidate Jean-Luc Mélenchon – also worked in Macron’s advantage.

Nevertheless, Macron’s victory is indeed remarkable, and highlights the decline in support for the mainstream parties among French voters, particularly the Socialist Party, whose candidate received a mere 6.4 per cent of the vote. Macron sensed this trend, which is why he took the bold step of forming his own party last year. His gamble paid off, and French voters put their trust in him.

Of course, the fact that a candidate like Le Pen got the support of one third of the electorate in the second round election, a historic high for the French far right, is very worrying. Conscious of this, Macron told his supporters during his victory speech in Paris: “I will do all I can during the next five years so that no-one ever has a reason again to vote for extremes.”

Macron certainly has many challenges ahead of him. He must unite a divided France, reform the labour market, the economy and the public sector, make job creation an absolute priority (the unemployment rate is 10 per cent), reach out to those who feel they have been left behind by globalisation, address the terrorist threat, beef up security to combat jihad­ism, reach out to Muslims and other minorities who feel marginalised, and crucially, join forces with Germany to revive the European project, reform the EU and address the main concerns of European citizens such as immigration, terrorism and a lack of jobs.

Macron’s first priority, however, is to do well in next month’s parliamentary elections. His En Marche! party is only one year old, so he has a huge task ahead of him, but he will be hoping to once again attract votes from across the political spectrum just like he did in the presidential election where he campaigned on a ‘neither left nor right’ platform.

It is possible that Macron’s party will end up with most seats in the National Assembly, but gaining an overall majority will be difficult, as the mainstream parties such as the Republicans and Socialists will be regrouping after doing so badly in the presidential election. It is important to keep in mind that while in France the President has a lot of authority in national security and foreign policy, it is the Prime Minister and his parliamentary majority who are in charge of the day-to-day running of the country.

So if Macron gets a parliamentary majority, this would be excellent for him, but failing that, a coalition would have to be formed, most likely between En Marche! and the centre-right Republicans, which is perfectly feasible as both parties are committed to economic reform.

Macron’s choice of Prime Minister (probably to be appointed tomorrow) and ministers will be crucial, and he is likely to appoint people from the centre as well as the centre-right and centre-left, thus reflecting the changed political landscape in France. However, these appointments could well be changed after next month’s parliamentary elections.

Macron now has a huge opportunity to reform France and to play a major role in Europe’s revival. It is in everyone’s interest for him to succeed, otherwise Le Pen and her National Front will be back.

On the international front I am sure that under President Macron, France will play a huge role in supporting multilateralism, espousing liberal values, ensuring that the Paris Climate Change Treaty is adhered to, and boosting Europe’s global role.

One thing is for certain: France’s image across the world has received a huge boost, and Macron’s election is without doubt the best news so far this year.