07/05/2017 BBC News at Ten

Tonight at Ten - the people of France have chosen

country's history. the youngest in the

Celebrations in Paris tonight, as Emmanuel Macron, a strong

supporter of the European Union, wins power at the age of 39,

it will be his first experience of elected office.

I'm going to serve our country. with total determination,

I'm going to serve France on your behalf.

Long live the Republic and long live France.

It's a night of defeat for the hard right campaign of Marine Le Pen,

of political debate. in the mainstream

TRANSLATION: I will be at the head of a battle to gather together,

all those who choose France to protect its independence,

its freedom, its prosperity and its security.

We'll have reaction from Paris and we'll be asking what this result

And also on tonight's programme: of the European Union,

Labour's tax pledge - if it wins the election it

won't raise income tax for anyone earning less than ?80,000 a year.

The Conservatives focus on mental health -

re-elected on June the 8th. in England if they're

And a first glimpse of the 82 Nigerian schoolgirls,

kidnapped three years ago and now free after a prisoner swap.

Good evening from Paris, where Emmanuel Macron has

scored a notable victory in today's election.

He'll take office in a week's time as the youngest president

in the history of France, at the age of 39.

movement was formed only a year ago. before and his independent political

The margin of victory, after a divisive campaign,

was convincing, projected results show centrist Macron

Marine Le Pen took 34%. while the hard-right

contest five years ago. on the last presidential

Mr Macron comes to power at a critical moment

not only for France, but also for the European Union,

in the years ahead. including the Brexit process,

editor Katya Adler. on the result is by our Europe

There is some flash photography coming up.

Young, dynamic and very, very confident. Emmanuel Macron, said to

be the youngest leader since Napoleon took the crowd by storm. In

the face of extremism, I know there are disagreements and I will respect

this. And I will be faithful to that commitment taken, I will protect the

Republic. This is an incredible moment. An economic and political

world heavyweight comic key EU nation will be presided over by a

39-year-old virtual political new, who has made a lot of big promises.

To bring revolution, to change hungry France and the European

Union. Business friendly, yet socially just, neither left nor

right wing. Sound like a tall order? His delighted supporters have faith.

I am very happy because he is a good choice to keep our valour in France.

I'm very happy about this result. We love Europe.

He means confidence, he means the future,

But easy it won't be, this is a an old country, dying.

But easy it won't be, this is a divided country. Marine Le Pen may

have lost an eye, but millions voted for her and her far right programme.

TRANSLATION: I propose to transform our movement into a new political

force, for small French people are calling for and which is more

necessary than ever before to rebuild our country. I call on all

patriots to join us for a decisive, political battle which begins this

evening and we continue in the months ahead. Far from being

defeatist, her supporters were defiant. You are never happy unless

you win, but we have got to look at the good side of this result. We

have gathered around us, people from outside the party for the

protectionist views we have for the programme of independence put

forward. Supporters also took to the streets tonight, some in a violent

mood. For them, Emmanuel Macron is no solution. He is part of the

problem, they think, of elitist, big business minded government. But the

night, I knew French Revolution is promised with a new president from a

brand-new party announcing a new dawn for France. For his supporters

at least, the three colours of the French flag are not just about

liberty, equality and fraternity, but above all, hope.

has been remarkable. rise of Emmanuel Macron

He's a former investment banker, and served as an adviser

and later a minister, in the Socialist government

of Francois Hollande, the outgoing president.

But he resigned last year to form his own centrist political

movement, called En Marche, or On The Move.

Lucy Williamson reports now on the man chosen to be

likely to be. and asks what kind of president he's

He's the choice of a country desperate for change,

never before elected. part of the French establishment yet

So, who is Emmanuel Macron? in the outgoing government.

To his supporters he is their Emmanuel, their political messiah,

He is a new face, he is our hope. the establishment who

But he went to France's most prestigious schools,

an investment bank. and made millions in

A former colleague says that Macron's rise is partly down

to charm but that at heart, he is a secretive man.

He is able to tell people what they really want to hear.

So a very seducive man and he manages to agree

That is a talent. and he managed to agree

never let people close. told one journalist that her husband

The couple met when she taught him drama at school.

Their unusual love affair is a sign, says one of Macron's old friends,

of his determination, self-belief and drive.

I think the only person who really knows him inside deeply is Brigitte.

convinced his family. he convinced her to marry him,

Just imagine, it's not a small thing.

France has not opted for the political extremes,

with his own promise of change. of a liberal newcomer

Emmanuel Macron has vowed to unite a divided and disillusioned

France but his critics say he is the old wine in a shiny

new bottle and the price of failure could be high.

Some say that Emmanuel Macron has won the presidency

to govern that way. but he won't be able

radical change next time. problems or risk it choosing more

Lucy is with me now. He has talked about rebuilding a divisive France

after the campaign. For those who voted for him, despite themselves

and those who voted for Marine Le Pen, he is aware he won decisively

the night with his liberal vision. A third of people voted for the far

right. If you think back a couple of weeks to the first round, Mr macron

was the first choice for less than a quarter of the electorate, so he

knows he has a lot of work to do. We have been underlining all day why

this result is not just important for France, but the European Union.

It is facing many challenges, not least the Brexit process coming up.

To what extent will the government of the UK be wanting to talk to him

carefully in the months ahead? They will want to talk to him, he will

have a big say because he is a complete Europhile and wants closer

cooperation with the European countries and the EU. He said some

tough things about Brexit, so it remains to be seen if he follows

through on them. He really wants to build up the economy of France in

that way. So Theresa May will want to talk to him very soon. Lucy

Williams, thank you very much. We'll have more from Paris a little

later and we'll be looking at the campaign promises made

by Mr Macron and asking what he's likely to prioritise when he takes

office in a few weeks' time. But now it's back

to Mishal in London. In election campaigning here,

Labour has made a pledge on tax, saying that if it wins on June

the 8th, it wont raise income tax for anyone earning less

than ?80,000 a year. The Shadow Chancellor,

John McDonnell, said those earning fund public services.

"a bit more" to help The Conservatives say they have no

plan to raise income tax but have so far refused to completely

rule it out. Our political correspondent

Ben Wright reports. by Labour's new leadership.

by Tony Blair, now revived Setting out what he called a big

deal to upgrade the economy, John McDonnell promised not to raise

VAT or national insurance for anyone, but said the top 5%

of earners would pay more. If Labour is elected next month,

we will guarantee for the next five than ?80,000 a year.

rises, for all those earning less Labour is now the party of low taxes

for middle and lower earners. Mr McDonnell said people earning

more than ?80,000 a year would pay to wait for the manifesto.

and details would have The Conservatives have promised not

to raise VAT but have so far made no matching pledge on national

insurance or income tax. This is a clear statement of intent.

was going back to the past. They want to raise taxes,

they want to penalise business, they want to penalise wealth

creation and I think they will end up wrecking the economy

as they have done in the past. just over ?169 billion.

tax raised in 2016 is The top 5% of UK earners, Labour's

target group for tax rises, paid just over 47% of that,

close to ?80 billion. You cannot make a really big change

to the amount of money that is available just by focusing

on people over 80,000 a year, partly because they already pay

an awful lot of tax and a lot more than they did a few years ago,

but partly because if you really want significant amounts of money,

you have to do something the politicians don't like doing,

which is hit the majority of people, tax is actually paid.

insurance and a lot of income You are pledging to increase tax

on high earners have to pay for public services and borrow

billions for infrastructure, but that has been Labour's message

since Jeremy Corbyn became leader. Why do you think it can turn things

around for Labour in the last four has not worked so far?

campaign when it seems it I think there is an opportunity now

in the general election campaign which we have not had before since

Jeremy Corbyn was elected leader. a majority on June 8th.

and I genuinely think we can secure Many of the bankers and financiers

who work here would pay more income tax under Labour's plan and this

is the first general election for many years,

when there is a stark choice developing between Labour

and the Conservatives with how the economy should be run and how

money should be raised and spent. The Conservatives put the focus

on mental health today, promising to reform the law

to reduce discrimination, and recruit thousands

more staff in England. The Health Secretary, Jeremy Hunt,

said a "lot of new money" is going into improving England's

mental health services under the Conservatives,

the Liberal Democrats dismissed Here's our Health Editor, Hugh Pym.

"meaningless rhetoric". Theresa May has already talked

of transforming the way mental health problems are dealt

with across society. back to Downing Street.

of what she wants to do if she gets The Conservatives say

there are concerns that individuals, including young people,

are detained unnecessarily in police cells and secure

mental health wards, should be scrapped and replaced.

which dates back more than 30 years, If you have a child that has severe

mental health problems and you find that child,

instead of being treated by the NHS, actually ends up in a police cell,

it's a terrible thing for the child, We want to stop that.

but it's also very bad record on mental health.

the Conservative government's When I come across families

who are waiting desperately let down by this government.

the care they need, they feel badly So for me, it's empty

rhetoric at the moment. The Conservatives also say

they want to increase staffing more planned by 2020.

care in England, with 10,000 Currently, there are 200,000

in a variety of roles, is down 6,600 since 2010.

the number of mental health nurses about what can be delivered.

the aims, but are doubtful We've got to resource the front line

so that there are enough beds and enough people and we wonder

if the 10,000 people promised that will be trained by 2020, will be

sufficient to meet such demand. planned NHS budget increases.

funding will come from existing Labour said the Tories hadn't

delivered on a promise to give mental health the same priority

as physical health and warm words Hugh Pym, BBC News.

of unequal treatment. 82 Nigerian schoolgirls,

kidnapped by the extremist group Boko Haram three years ago,

met their country's President today after being freed

in a prisoner swap. They were among more than 200 girls

taken from their school in the town of Chibok,

at least 100 are still being held. Released only a day ago.

correspondent, Alastair Leithead. Three years held in the forest

by Boko Haram, here they are in the Nigerian capital,

meeting the President. Campaigners and the families

of those held, still don't know if their daughters

are among those freed. Or that more than 100

are still being held. Whether she is among

the ones that's freed or still in captivity,

I don't know yet. Whether my baby is freed

or not, I am very happy. A helicopter ride to the capital.

proof they were free. taken for a medical checkup.

the care of Nigerian soldiers, Some needed treatment.

by all the attention. I am very glad and every Nigerian

today must be forgetting how they were suffering because this

is a very joyous moment. This Boko Haram video

shows the girls shortly government girl's secondary school.

2014, they were taken from Chibok campaign to have them freed.

outrage and a global finally bore fruit.

were released, as negotiations The government says talks will now

continue to free the rest. These girls have grown

up under Boko Haram. Captives are often forced

to marry their captors. and communities will not be easy.

and returning to their families North Korea says it has detained

an American citizen on suspicion of carrying out what it

called "hostile acts". The state news agency said

the man had been working for the Pyongyang University

of Science and Technology. Korea in a fortnight.

to be detained by North A total of four US nationals are now

being held by Pyongyang. Back to the General Election now

and the Liberal Democrats have said today their manifesto will include

a commitment to keep the "triple lock" on the state pension,

which guarantees it rises by as much as wages, inflation or 2.5%,

whichever is highest. Labour has also pledged

to retain the triple lock. Conservatives would do so.

to say whether the Each week, the BBC's Steph McGovern,

and the Reality Check team, will be looking at some of the key

issues facing voters. protection, how affordable is it?

pension, and the triple lock I'm sure we've all thought of ways

to try and make a bit of extra money and thinking about retiring.

especially as you're getting older of people rely on the state one.

a private pensions for a lot There are around 13 million people

claiming the state pension. It works out at a maximum of just

over ?159 a week and that costs total spending.

about 12% of the government's called the triple lock.

is based on something Statisticians will look at how much

average earnings have gone up has risen as well.

the cost of living, If either of them are over 2.5% then

they will go with the highest. the state pension by 2.5%.

then they will increase Basically whichever

of these three is highest. So this means that even at times

when price rises and the increase Have a look at this graph.

to zero, the state pension has Since April 2010, the state

pension has gone up by 25%, A big difference.

by 14% and prices, is good news for you.

to retiring then this system Barry, you think you

deserve this rise? I do deserve the rise,

we need the increase every year. I'm going to let you get back to it.

I'm still working. But for George, a different story,

because you are a lot younger and you're finding it tough

to save for anything. and I haven't saved much money yet.

since I finished university Do you think you'll be working

a long time before you retire? Yeah I feel that retirement

is a long way off. It's clear the triple lock system

divides the generations. Older people are more likely to vote

in an election so it is good for harnessing the grey vote

but it's stirring up inequalities between the young

and old in the future. No, it's not.

about whether it is sustainable. It's already costing the country

several billion pounds more the decades to come.

and the cost is going to go up over So the next government

is going to have to make some pretty tough decisions about how

and when it is going to get rid of the triple lock

and what it will do instead. I will let you get

back to your shopping. If we don't have that system,

what do we do, because people when everything around is changing.

and it can't be a fixed rate So, one option is to have a double

lock system, get rid of the 2.5% much the cost of living is rising.

much earnings are increasing or how This is about fairness

and sustainability. Some organisations think the triple

lock system is simply an arbitrary way of setting pension rises and,

if things carry on as they are, to keep going up.

of retirement will have Part of a new series we will be

News, Walton on Thames. Part of a new series we will be

running between now and the election.

Football now and you'll be able to watch highlights

of today's Premier League and Scottish Premiership matches

in Match of the Day 2 and Sportscene later on.

after beating Barnsley 3-0. the Championship title

It comes as the 1995 Premier League champions Blackburn were relegated

beating Brentford 3-1. football, that's despite

That's it from me in London, now back to Huw Edwards in Paris.

So the people of France are taking in the news that they have elected

the youngest president in their history, a politician

with no background of elected office, he's beaten Marine Le Pen

of the Front National, who declared tonight that her party

opposition in France. as the main party of

I'd like to talk about what kind of Lucy Williamson is with me.

I'd like to talk about what kind of president Mr Macron will be. What do

you think this presidency will be about? He is young, energetic,

charismatic. He talks about optimism. He talks a lot about

breaking the system, renewing the system. I will tell you an anecdote

from his time as a state auditor. One of his colleagues remembered how

he used to leapfrog layers of senior management. He once took his oppose

all straight to the Lee is a palace. He doesn't like obstacles getting in

his way. He has the Parliamentary elections next month. With out a

stable coalition and a good result, he won't be able to implement his

project very easily and that is the biggest thing facing him at the

moment. Lucy, thank you very much. That's all from Paris for tonight,

in a moment we'll have the news where you are, but we'll leave

you with some of the memorable Good night.

Emmanuel Macron was elected