French far right in 'earthquake' win as Europe votes
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E-mail Xinhua, May 26, 2014
With a rhetoric hostile to the European Union (EU) and advocate of tough immigration rules, the far-right National Party (FN) topped the country's European Parliament ballots, adding more pressure to the embattled ruling Socialists already struggling to defend their economic and political credentials.
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Marine Le Pen, the head of the National front. [File photo] |
Exit polls put the Eurosceptics at the first place in the European election with the FN garnered up to 26 percent of the vote, sharply up from 6.34 compared to 2009 performance.
The unprecedented score pave the way for 23 to 25 far-rightists to sit in the European Parliament, who are expected to propose tough measures to preserve sovereignty of the EU member countries and to play hard to cut immigration.
The country's conservatives secured 20 to 21 percent of the vote, or 18 to 21 seats for the Union of Popular Movement (UMP). However, pollsters estimates did not show solace for president Francois Hollande whose party collected 14 to 15 percent of vote pushing the Socialist Party at the third place.
In their second major electoral test, the Socialists lost their bet to reverse slumping popularity and convince beleaguered voters despite attempts to refresh the executive team and new devices to spur growth and create jobs.
Shortly after the results release, Marine Le Pen, the head of the National front hailed it "a huge honour," as voters "do not want to be directed by outside" and have credited the party's candidates to implement their ideas of protectionism and nationalism.
"To all French, whether they voted for us, they abstained, or they have fought us, this hope must unite us. The struggle for the greatness of France and hopeful future for our children must now gather together," Le Pen said.
"The President of the Republic should take the necessary arrangements to make the parliament national, representative of the people and even follow the political independence that the people have chosen tonight," she added.
In the Socialist camp, Prime Minister Manuel Valls warned of "a very serious time for France and Europe," after the FN claimed victory. He also acknowledged a "poor score of the governing parties, particularly the majority and the left."
To the government spokesman, Stephane Le Foll who is also the Agriculture Minister, the election's results were "an alert for the Republicans."
"We understand expectations and doubts, which are often translated in opinion polls by a large pessimism. (But,) we must continue efforts for the country's recovery," he told state-run TV channel France2.
A total of 46 million French voters cast their ballots on Sunday to elect 74 deputies in the European parliament for the 2014-2019 period.
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