French voters propel unlikely lad Emmanuel Macron to presidency

Independent centrist Emmanuel Macron has celebrated a resounding victory at the polls as French voters ripped up the country's political map to make him the nation's youngest president.

The unabashedly pro-European former investment banker who had never run for office before dashed the populist dream of far-right rival Marine Le Pen then joined thousands of jubilant, flag-waving supporters outside the Louvre Museum in Paris.