The results for France and Germany were particularly stunning as a referendum was issued by voters on leaders Emmanuel Macron and Olaf Scholz, respectively. The majority of EU right-wing parties ran on an anti-immigration, pro-nuclear family, economically conservative platforms.
According to exit polls conducted on Sunday, the National Rally (NR) party secured 31.5 percent of the vote in France, marking the first time since 1984 that a French party has received over 30 percent of the vote in European elections, per Euro News.
"We’re ready to turn the country around, ready to defend the interests of the French, ready to put an end to mass immigration," said National Rally leader Marine Le Pen.
Macron's Renaissance party garnered 15.2 percent of the votes, which is less than half of the National Rally's support. This represents a decrease from the 22 percent it received in the 2019 elections. To compare, support for the National Rally party increased by 8 percent.
French President Macron announced defeat on X and warned about "the rise of the nationalists and demagogues" saying that it is not only a threat to France but to "Europe and in the world."
Over in Germany, the conservative alliance of the Christian Democratic Union and the Christian Social Union emerged victorious on Sunday, garnering 30.2 percent of the vote.
While this was expected, based on prior polls, Politico reported that all eyes were on the second-place finish, in which the right-wing Alternative for Germany (AfD) party received a five percent increase from 2019 and is expected to finish second with 16 percent of the vote.
"After all the prophecies of doom, after the barrage of the last few weeks, we are the second strongest force," said AfD leader Alice Weidel.
Alternative for Germany surpassed the Social Democrats, who suffered their most dismal outcome in a national election in the party's history, under the leadership of Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
Belgium's Prime Minister Alexander de Croo resigned over the results in his nation. Belgium veered right as well, although not far right. The far-right Vlaams Belang party gained 21 percent but did not beat their conservative rivals New Flemish Alliance.
While the two mainstream parties the Christian Democrats and the Socialists maintained their dominance, the far right made substantial headway, mostly at the expense of the Green party in the EU, which looks to have lost some 20 seats.
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