France's Macron bills himself the 'patriots' candidate' vs Le Pen
Emmanuel Macron, head of the political movement En Marche !, or Onwards !, and candidate for the 2017 French presidential election, gestures to supporters after the first round of 2017 French presidential election at a polling station in Paris, France, April 23, 2017. REUTERS/Philippe Wojazer
PARIS Presidential candidate Emmanuel Macron called on all "patriots" to rally behind him against the threat of what he called "nationalists," after qualifying on Sunday for the French election's runoff against far-right leader Marine Le Pen.
"I want to be the president of patriots against the threat of nationalists," the 39-year old centrist told a cheering crowd of supporters.
Macron, whose "En Marche!" party is only one year old and has never taken part in any parliamentary election, also said he would as soon as Monday work on building a parliament majority to be able to govern after legislative elections in June.
"In one year, we have changed the face of French politics," Macron said.
(Reporting by Michel Rose and Mathieu Rosemain; Editing by Ingrid Melander)