Merkel's spokesman hails Macron success in French election

Reuters

BERLIN (Reuters) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel's spokesman on Sunday hailed the projected success of centrist Emmanuel Macron in the first round of the French presidential election. In a Tweet, Merkel's chief spokesman Steffen Seibert said: "Good that @EmmanuelMacron succeeded with his policy for a strong EU and social market economy. Wishing him all the best for the next two weeks." Macron and far-right leader Marine Le Pen are leading in the official vote count in France's election with about 38-39 percent of votes counted so far, official figures from the Interior Ministry showed on Sunday. (Reporting by Andrea Shalal; Editing by Dale Hudson)