This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/may/25/france-national-front-win-european-elections

The article has changed 3 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 0 Version 1
Front National wins European parliament elections in France Front National wins European parliament elections in France
(35 minutes later)
France's far-right National Front was projected on Sunday to win European parliament elections in France with around 25% of the vote, with President François Hollande's Socialists in third place behind the centre-right UMP, three exit polls showed. France's nationalist extreme right turned European politics upside down on Sunday, trouncing the governing Socialists and the mainstream conservatives in the European parliamentary elections which across the continent returned an unprecedented number of MEPs hostile to, or sceptical about, the European Union in a huge vote of no confidence in Europe's political elite.
If the Front National score is confirmed, it will be the first time that the anti-immigrant, anti-EU party led by Marine Le Pen has won a national election. According to exit polls, the Front National of Marine Le Pen came first in France with more than 25% of the vote. The nationalist anti-immigrant Danish People's party won by a similar margin in Denmark. In Austria, the far right Freedom Party took one fifth of the vote, according to projections, while on the hard left, Alexis Tsipras led Greece's Syriza movement to a watershed victory over the country's two governing and traditional ruling parties, New Democracy conservatives and the Pasok social democrats.
The UMP was projected to score around 21% while the ruling Socialists were seen as scoring 14%, down from the 16.5% won last time in 2009. The voting across four days in 28 countries, according to exit polls late on Sunday, delivered a string of sensational outcomes, with radical and nationalist anti-EU forces scoring major victories both on the far right and the hard left.
Le Pen immediately called for the dissolution of the French national assembly after the exit polls showed her anti-immigrant, Eurosceptic party winning . In Britain, the Nigel Farage-led insurrection against Westminster was also tipped to unsettle the polticial mainstream by coming first or second in the election. The Tories, the biggest UK caucus in the parliament for 20 years, faced the prospect of being pushed into third place.
"What else can the president do after such a rejection?" Le Pen told reporters at Front National headquarters when asked if Hollande – whose ruling Socialists were well behind in third place – should dissolve the national parliament. In Germany, the most powerful EU state, Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democrats scored an expected easy victory, but Germany also returned its first eurosceptics in the form of the Alternative for Germany as well as its first neo-Nazi MEP from the Hitler apologists of the National Democratic Party of Germany, according to German TV projections.
"It is unacceptable that the assembly should be so unrepresentative of the French people." And Merkel's Christian Democrats dropped several points while the SPD (social democrats) made significant gains, narrowing the gap between the two big parties to around 8 percentage points.
The election mattered more than ever before because the Strasbourg-based parliament has gained greater powers, meaning it will have a strong say in most EU legislation over the next five years and will also shape the outcome of the battle for the most powerful post in Brussels, the new head of the EU executive or European commission. However, its mandate to exercise those powers was dented by the low turnout, at around 45%, raising renewed questions about the parliament's legitimacy.
If the Front National score is confirmed, it will be the first time that the anti-immigrant, anti-EU party has won a national election and would give the party 23-25 of France's 74 seats in the European Parliament.
Le Pen immediately called for the dissolution of the French national assembly after the exit polls showed her anti-immigrant, Eurosceptic party winning . "What else can the president do after such a rejection?" Le Pen told reporters at Front National headquarters when asked if Hollande should dissolve the national parliament. "It is unacceptable that the assembly should be so unrepresentative of the French people."
From the beginning of the European election campaign Le Pen was insistent that Sunday evening would finally see the Front National emerge as "France's No 1 party".From the beginning of the European election campaign Le Pen was insistent that Sunday evening would finally see the Front National emerge as "France's No 1 party".
Election pundits scorned her pretentions; the opinion polls confirmed them.Election pundits scorned her pretentions; the opinion polls confirmed them.
As the first exit polls were announced at 8pm on Sunday, cheers and a rendition of La Marseillaise broke out among the party faithful gathered at the Front National headquarters in the Paris suburb of Nanterre, appeared to prove Le Pen right.As the first exit polls were announced at 8pm on Sunday, cheers and a rendition of La Marseillaise broke out among the party faithful gathered at the Front National headquarters in the Paris suburb of Nanterre, appeared to prove Le Pen right.
The first estimations suggested the far-right party had done even better than expected, polling an historic 25% of votes in the European elections and becoming France's No1 party on the European stage.The first estimations suggested the far-right party had done even better than expected, polling an historic 25% of votes in the European elections and becoming France's No1 party on the European stage.
It was the second slap in the face for Hollande's administration in as many months after a disastrous showing in local elections in March.It was the second slap in the face for Hollande's administration in as many months after a disastrous showing in local elections in March.
Elsewhere in Europe the elections are also expected to deliver strong showings for anti-EU parties and extremist parties.
Exit polls suggested Greece's anti-austerity leftist party Syriza had come first, but the election also delivered a strong showing for neo-Nazi group Golden Dawn. With up to 10% of the vote Golden Dawn looks set to elect at least two out of Greece's 21 eurodeputies, despite an ongoing criminal investigation and the fact that several of its leading members are in pre-trial detention.Exit polls suggested Greece's anti-austerity leftist party Syriza had come first, but the election also delivered a strong showing for neo-Nazi group Golden Dawn. With up to 10% of the vote Golden Dawn looks set to elect at least two out of Greece's 21 eurodeputies, despite an ongoing criminal investigation and the fact that several of its leading members are in pre-trial detention.
Syriza was ahead by about 3 percentage points over the leading government party, the conservative New Democracy, polls jointly carried out by six leading opinion companies showed.Syriza was ahead by about 3 percentage points over the leading government party, the conservative New Democracy, polls jointly carried out by six leading opinion companies showed.
Syriza's parliamentary spokesman Panagiotis Lafazanis said that if confirmed, the EU vote constituted a game-changer in Greece.Syriza's parliamentary spokesman Panagiotis Lafazanis said that if confirmed, the EU vote constituted a game-changer in Greece.
"The (EU vote) result alters Greece's political scene," Lafazanis told Mega television."The (EU vote) result alters Greece's political scene," Lafazanis told Mega television.
Victory for Syriza would appear to reflect popular frustration with the harsh spending cuts the government has adopted in recent years to meet the terms of its economic rescue programme.Victory for Syriza would appear to reflect popular frustration with the harsh spending cuts the government has adopted in recent years to meet the terms of its economic rescue programme.
The surge in support for the far-left raises doubts about how much longer the centre-right government can last with a parliamentary majority of just two seats, although government spokesman Simos Kedikoglou said there was no question that the government would not finish its four-year term.The surge in support for the far-left raises doubts about how much longer the centre-right government can last with a parliamentary majority of just two seats, although government spokesman Simos Kedikoglou said there was no question that the government would not finish its four-year term.
"It's easy for people to cast a protest vote in European elections," he told Greek television. "The political scenario of a government collapse, which Syriza was trying to paint, has not been borne out by the facts.""It's easy for people to cast a protest vote in European elections," he told Greek television. "The political scenario of a government collapse, which Syriza was trying to paint, has not been borne out by the facts."
Projections by German television indicated that Angela Merkel's Christian Democrats would secure 36% of the vote, down from a 23-year-high of 41.5% in last year's federal election but still a clear victory.
The centre-left Social Democrats were forecast to take 27.5%, according to public broadcaster ARD, with turnout up from the last European elections in 2009.
The anti-euro Alternative for Germany (AfD) party won parliamentary representation for the first time with an estimated 6.5%, the best result so far for a conservative party created only last year.
"Germany has cast a clear pro-Europe vote and the high turnout is a good signal for the idea of European unity," said David McAllister, the top Christian Democrat candidate.