Paris, France – As tens of thousands waited at the Place du Carrousel du Louvre for their new president, Emmanuel Macron, they danced to a playlist that appeared to have been prepared to send a message to the far right.
Minutes after the result was announced, Cris Crab, a young American artist, performed a remixed version of a Sting classic.
“I’m an alien, a legal alien, I’m an Englishman in Paris,” he sang, later playing an encore “because I’ve heard that Emmanuel wants this one again.”
Magic System, an Ivorian a musical group from Abidjan, and Richard Orlinski, French DJ and sculptor, also kept the crowd moving.
There were cheers and ululations when Orlinski spun the Arabic classic, Abdelkader Ya Boualem.
When he arrived, he was greeted by a sea of French flags and cries of “Macron, President! Macron, president!”
“Thank you for having fought with courage and benevolence over so many months,” Macron, 39, said.
“Tonight, you won. France won.”
Celebrations continued until midnight – for a short while longer in the streets nearby.
Raymond Bobar is a typographic designer and photographer. Follow Raymond on Twitter: @bobar