French President Emmanuel Macron yesterday sought to unite a deeply divided nation after winning re-election in a battle against rival Marine Le Pen that saw the far right come its closest yet to taking power.

Centrist Macron won 58.54 percent of the vote in the second-round run-off compared with 41.46 for Le Pen, according to final results from the interior ministry.

Macron is the first French president in two decades to win a second term and his victory prompted a sigh of relief throughout Europe that the far right had again been thwarted from taking power in the key EU state.

The president already has a daunting in-tray, ranging from preparing for parliamentary elections as soon as June to implementing explosive pension reform plans and dealing with the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Addressing supporters in the shadow of the Eiffel Tower late Sunday, Macron vowed to heal rifts in a deeply divided country.

"From now on, I am not the candidate of one camp, but everybody's president," he said.

"An answer must be found to the anger and disagreements that led many of our compatriots to vote for the extreme right."

Turnout was the lowest in any presidential election second-round run-off since 1969 and, in another striking sign of disenchantment with politics, 8.6 percent of people who voted either delivered a blank ballot or spoilt their papers.

The 44-year-old president now faces the challenge of parliamentary elections in June, where keeping a majority will be critical for his ambitions.

In a sign of roadblocks ahead, two polls published late Sunday showed that most voters do not wish for him to also carry the parliamentary vote.

"Macron's biggest challenge will be to create a sense of cohesion in an extremely fragmented country," said Tara Varma, senior policy fellow and head of the Paris office of the European Council on Foreign Relations.

Macron's re-election sparked relief across Europe where he has been seen as a guarantor of continuity.

Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi called Macron's victory "great news for all of Europe" while German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said French voters "sent a strong vote of confidence in Europe today".

European Council president Charles Michel said the bloc could now "count on France for five more years" while European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen said she was "delighted".

The praise was echoed by other world leaders, including US President Joe Biden, Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison.