Macron beats Le Pen, but can he lead France?
- Written by Joshua Cole, Professor of History, University of Michigan

In the second round of the French presidential election, extremism lost.
It is less clear what won.
Estimates after the polls closed had Emmanuel Macron winning with 63.7 percent of the vote. National Front candidate Marine Le Pen took approximately 36.3 percent. That’s less than the 40 percent some polls gave...