French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz suffered massive defeats in the European Parliament elections Sunday, as far-right parties made gains that could sway the bloc to take a harder line on migration and upset ambitious climate change plans.
Despite the defeats, center-left and center-right parties across Europe are set to preserve their majority in the European Union-wide election, which determines the make-up of the bloc’s legislative assembly.
In France, Marine Le Pen’s National Rally won with 32.4% of the vote, while Macron’s Renaissance party trailed with 15.2%, according to polls publishes by Ifop. In Germany, Scholz’s Social Democrats crashed to their worst-ever result, falling behind both the opposition conservatives and far-right Alternative for Germany.
The outcome highlights the tenuous state of clear leadership in Europe as the bloc’s biggest economies contend with an uneasy grasp on power at home due to challenges from the nationalist parties.
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