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51 Votes From This Erstwhile French Colony In India Had Contributed To Emmanuel Macron's Win

Yanam was a French colony till 1954.
Christian Hartmann / Reuters

Even as Emmanuel Macron is set to be the new president of France, defeating far-right candidate Marine Le Pen, reports suggest that French citizens from Andhra Pradesh's Yanam town may have made a tiny contribution to his win.

The Hindustan Times reported that the town which has a sizeable Telugu-speaking French population have cast at least 51 votes in favour of Macron.

As reported by Reuters, Macron's elections is supposed to bring relief for European allies that had feared the election of far right candidate Le Pen.

After his victory, the news agency quoted him as saying, "I know the divisions in our nation, which have led some to vote for the extremes. I respect them.I know the anger, the anxiety, the doubts that very many of you have also expressed. It's my responsibility to hear them. I will work to recreate the link between Europe and its peoples, between Europe and citizens."

The votes from India, were also perhaps, based on the same reservations that European countries had towards Le Pen.

Yanam resident Sadanala Babu, a French national by birth, told The Hindustan Times, "Macron had promised to enhance pension for overseas French nationals and renew their citizenship, besides payment of unemployment allowance to the youth and opening up employment opportunities for immigrants. On the other hand, Le Pen is like US President Donald Trump, who threatened to take away jobs of the immigrants."

Yanam was part of Indian territories that were colonised by France, and remained so till 1954. While it is an enclave of Puducherry, it is geographically a part of Andhra Pradesh.

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