Reuters:German lawmakers welcome Macron lead in French election

German politicians on Sunday welcomed the projected victory of centrist Emmanuel Macron in the first round of the French presidential election, but said they remained concerned about the combined strength of the anti-European vote.

Macron and far-right leader Marine Le Pen are set to face each other in a May 7 runoff for the French presidency after coming first and second in Sunday’s round of voting, early projections indicated.

Gunther Krichbaum, a member of Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservatives and head of the parliamentary European affairs committee, said Macron’s victory was “a valuable signal” for German-French cooperation.

At the same time, he said it was alarming that the combined votes for Le Pen and far-left candidate Jean-Luc Melenchon, who is also critical of European integration, totalled 40 percent.

Axel Schaefer, vice chairman of the Social Democrats in parliament, said the election result showed that the “right-wing march” across Europe had been stopped, following setbacks for populist candidates in Austria and the Netherlands.

“Macron showed that a pro-European candidate can also mobilise people. In the second round, all republican forces will have to stand together,” he said.

Read more:http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-france-election-germany-idUKKBN17P0TH?il=0