Macron’s re-election gets warm welcome in Athens

Athens has welcomed the re-election of Emanuel Macron to the presidency of France, after his victory over Marine Le Pen in Sunday’s runoff.

Government sources say Athens has invested in relations with Paris, but also in Macron’s personal support, geopolitically and economically, in the midst of an energy crisis.

In his Easter Sunday message, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis referred to a “significant victory for France, Europe and democracy.”

Government spokesman Giannis Oikonomou echoed the same sentiment on Tuesday.

“These elections have highlighted the political dangers posed by recurring crises, making the need for a European response to the problems posed by the energy crisis and unprecedented price hikes imperative,” he said, adding that Greece had experienced “how economic problems can, in the blink of an eye, provoke a political crisis and breed populism and extremism.”