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Marine Le Pen says her party is 'ready to take power' as French President Macron dissolves Parliament and calls snap election after his coalition was trounced by the far-Right in EU vote
Far-right political heavyweight Marine Le Pen said last night her party is 'ready to take power' after Emmanuel Macron called for a snap poll following a major defeat in the European Elections.
Macron dissolved France's parliament and announced the vote in the wake of a massive swing to the Right during the country's European Union elections.
The president suffered a humiliating defeat after Le Pen's National Rally party took home a projected 31.5% of the vote.
It came on a night where much of the rest of the bloc saw an equally dramatic swing to the Right, with major upsets being witnessed in Belgium, Germany and Austria.
Despite this, European Commission chief Ursula von Der Leyen boldly proclaimed 'the centre is holding', but warned 'the world around us is in turmoil.'
French president Emmanuel Macron (pictured) has called a snap election in the wake of a massive swing to the right during the country's European Union elections
Far-right political heavyweight Marine Le Pen has said her party is 'ready to take power'
Supporters of French far-right National Rally react at the party election night headquarters after French President Emanuel Macron announced he dissolves National Assembly
One woman was seen gleefully drinking as Macron called a snap election
Macron's Renaissance party suffered one of the worst ever defeats for a party in French government, taking just 15.2% of France's vote.
He dissolved France's parliament and called the election in the wake of the pummelling, announcing the first round will take place on June 30, while the second will take place on July 7.
He said, following his announcement: 'France needs a clear majority in serenity and harmony. To be French, at heart, it is about choosing to write history, not be driven by it.'
Supporters of the far-right National Rally party were seen gleefully celebrating the dissolution of France's parliament, having been buoyed by their success at the EU elections.
Le Pen told her party's supporters: 'We are ready to take power if the French show trust in us.'
The EU election, which has been held across the continent over the last three days, is the first since Brexit, the pandemic and Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
On top of these, many voters have been hit by the cost of living, have concerns about migration and the cost of the green transition and are disturbed by geopolitical tensions, including war in Ukraine, and hard and far-right parties have seized on this and offered the electorate an alternative.
It isn't only French citizens who have been wooed by the far-right.
Belgium saw a major upset in favour of nationalist parties that claimed a victory so great the nation's prime minister, Alexander DeCroo, resigned.
His liberal party, the Flemish Liberals and Democrats, also known as Open VLD, have taken in just six percent of the votes, 90% of which have been counted, at the European Union elections.
Despite polls predicting that the far-right, anti-immigration Vlaams Belang party would become the main political force in the country with 11.5 million inhabitants, the right-wing nationalist New Flemish Alliance (N-VA) retained its first spot, with an expected 22% of the votes, according to provisional results provided by the Interior ministry.
The Vlaams Belang came in second position, with a share of 17.5%, ahead of the Socialist Voruit party, which garnered about 10.5% of the votes.
In Germany, Chancellor Olaf Scholz's Social Democratic Party (SDU) was projected to come third, taking just 14% of the votes, a historic low for the party according to German broadcasters who commissioned exit polls.
Far and hard-right parties in Germany, meanwhile, have been projected to take the lead.
Many voters have been hit by the cost of living, have concerns about migration and the cost of the green transition and are disturbed by geopolitical tensions
The EU election, which has been held across the continent over the last three days, is the first since Brexit, the pandemic and Russia's invasion of Ukraine
A conservative alliance of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and the Christian Social Union (CSU) took home 29.5% of the vote.
The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD), took second, with 16.5% of the votes - a massive 5.5% increase compared to the 2019 EU election.
A similar result was seen in Austrian exit polls, with the far-right FPOe party leading the vote count.
If confirmed, it would be the first time the group has topped a nationwide ballot in the Alpine country.
The Freedom Party (FPOe) gained 27 percent of the votes, ahead of the ruling conservative People's Party (OeVP), according to the polls released by the country's main media outlets.
Despite the massive swings to the right, Ursula von der Leyen proclaimed: 'First, there remains a majority in the centre for a strong Europe, and that is crucial for stability. In other words, the centre is holding.
'But it is also true that the extremes on the left and on the right have gained support, and this is why the result comes with great responsibility for the parties in the centre.
'We may differ on individual points, but we all have an interest in stability, and we all want a strong and effective Europe.'
The EU Parliament, which will be made up of 720 seats after the election finishes, is made up of multi-party factions.
While centre-left and centre-right factions have largely dominated the bloc's parliament since its last election in 2019, these parties are broadly expected to lose seats as more and more Europeans turn to more extreme parties in the hopes that they may solve their problems with the EU.
A projection by Europe Elects pollster on Sunday showed the centre-right European People's Party (EPP) could gain just five seats compared to the last parliament to win a total of 183. The Socialists, who include German Chancellor Olaf Scholz's party, are seen losing four seats to get 136.
In Germany, Chancellor Olaf Scholz's (pictured) Social Democratic Party (SDU) was projected to come third, taking just 14% of the votes
The EU Parliament, which will be made up of 720 seats after the election finishes, is made up of multi-party factions
In contrast, the poll said the national-conservative European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) was likely to get five more deputies for a total of 73 and the far-right Identity and Democracy (ID) group could get eight more seats for a total of 67.
More deputies could join the right and far-right groups from among the so far non-affiliated deputies of whom there would be 79, the poll said.
Meanwhile, the European Greens, facing a backlash from hard-pressed households, farmers and industry over costly EU policies limiting CO2 emissions, look set to be among the big losers with the poll on Sunday giving them only 56 deputies, a loss of 15.
Forecasts for the liberal group Renew Europe are also grim, given the expectation that Marine Le Pen's far-right Rassemblement National will trounce French President Emmanuel Macron's centrist Renaissance in France.
The Sunday poll put the Renew group's losses at 13 seats, forecasting it will end up with 89.
The European Parliament will issue an EU-wide exit poll at around 7:30pm BST and then a first provisional result after 10pm when the final votes, in Italy, have been cast.