In in an election which has turned French political life on its head, the French have elected “le kid,” Emmanuel Macron, as their President, keeping the spectre of the far right out of the Elysée Palace.

At 39 years old, Macron is France’s youngest head of state since a certain Napoleon Bonaparte. He has never held elected office, nor does he belong to either one of France’s two main parties, so superficially at least he is something different.

Macron’s official celebration on Sunday night was marked by symbolism. He chose the Louvre as a backdrop: the old seat of the long-gone French monarchy which was taken back by the French revolutionaries. His En Marche volunteers, typically young and energetic like their leader, gleefully handed out French and European flags to attendees; a proud nod to Macron’s unashamed embrace of European identity.

The atmosphere was one of pure joy and the crowd was a true cross section of France’s rich diversity, of which Paris is the biggest hub. When Macron finally arrived to the tune of Beethoven’s Ode to Joy (it’s no coincidence that this is the European anthem), his speech, albeit solemn, spoke to and honoured that diversity.

It would be nice to imagine that the harmony at the Louvre on Sunday night were universal. It would be nice to think that this were some simple case of the good guy triumphing over the evil lady: moderate politics beats extremism and everyone lives happily ever after.

But, of course, the reality is far from simple.

Marine Le Pen won 34% of vote; a sizeable portion and certainly much more than the 18% scraped by her father, Jean-Marie, in 2002. And there’s more food for thought: the abstention rate, at over 25%, was at its highest since the 1960s, and that doesn’t even include the blank votes cast- more than 11% of all votes. These results show considerable resistance emanating from both the far right and the far left to Macron and his neoliberal globalist vision for France.

It is also crucial to note that out of his own 66% share of the vote, many who elected him did so not out of any strong desire to see him as President but out of clear determination to prevent a Le Pen presidency. So while there may have been joy in France on Sunday night, it is arguable that most of it was for Marine Le Pen’s defeat rather than Emmanuel Macron’s victory.

Monsieur Macron’s has been swept to the Elysée Palace on the basis of his own personal charm and audacity, along with the vivacious and youthful movement behind him and aided significantly by his first round opponent and previous favourite to win, Francois Fillon’s corruption scandals. Even six months ago most serious observers would have laughed off the idea of a President Macron; this is surely a remarkable achievement, but his task ahead, as he so aptly put it himself in his victory speech, is immense.

Emmanuel Macron has to prove to the French people that the positive change which he so eloquently evokes in his speeches, with Obama-like fervour, can be delivered. He must prove to them that he is more than just another Hollande. He will have to ensure that his entirely new movement, only just rebranded as La République en Marche!, wins enough seats in the upcoming parliamentary elections to live up to its name (on the move) and so that he can effectively implement his programme.

This will be no small feat. And the most immense task of all will be for President Macron to unite a country which this election has confirmed is so deeply at odds with itself.