As of 18.20 ET Sunday.... Nat
PARIS, France (CNN) -- President Jacques Chirac has been re-elected in a landslide victory over extreme-right leader Jean-Marie Le Pen, after a dramatic presidential race that shook France and much of Europe. With 98 percent of the national vote counted, Interior Ministry figures gave Chirac 82 percent of the vote, and Le Pen 18.1 percent, The Associated Press reported. Chirac's massive victory was helped by a bigger turnout than for the April 21 first round, when 28 percent of voters stayed at home. Turnout on Sunday was estimated at about 80 percent, with 20 percent abstaining. "We have gone through a time of serious anxiety for the country," Chirac said in his victory speech. "But tonight, France has reaffirmed its attachment to values of the Republic." (Full story) <Continued on CNN.com>
