 |
| French far-right leader of the National Front Party, Marine Le Pen |
France’s far-Right Front National was on course for an historic victory in European elections on Sunday night, coming top in a national election for the first time in its 42-year history in a score it said represented a “massive rejection” of the EU.
Early exit polls placed the anti-European, anti-immigrant party first with 25 per cent of the vote – a result that was even better than expected.
The result put the FN well ahead of the opposition centre-Right UMP party, on 20.6 per cent, which lost nine percentage points compared to 2009.
The ruling Socialists clinched a paltry 14.1 per cent, the second drubbing they have received in nationwide elections in two months after suffering heavy losses in municipal elections in March.
Estimations suggest that the FN was on course for clinching 24 seats in the European Parliament – a major jump from the three it won in 2009 – with the UMP taking 19, the Socialists 13 and the Greens six. » | Henry Samuel, Nanterre | Sunday, May 25, 2014
