EU elections latest: Kremlin weighs in on shock French election; Macron rejects PM’s resignation offer

Key points

EU Parliament election results are being announced, with far-right parties surging and the Greens slumpingThe trend is significant for EU heavyweights Germany and ItalyA rattled French president Emmanuel Macron has called a snap domestic election after the success of his fiercest rivals at the EU levelFar-right didn’t perform as well as expected – EU chief
Kremlin weighs in on election challenge to ‘hostile’ French governmentEuro slumps after snap election decisionSnap election a ‘blow’ to Olympics – Paris mayor
Siobhan Robbins analysis: The winners and losers from whirlwind electionsAdam Parsons eyewitness: National Rally confident of French tide turningLive reporting by Brad Young and Mark Wyatt

17:42:23

We’re pausing our live coverage of the EU election results. Thanks for following.

17:33:15 Will Macron’s gamble pay off?

In today’s Sky News Daily podcast, Niall Paterson talks to Europe correspondent Adam Parsons about what’s behind the far-right surge and Macron’s decision to hold a snap election. 

17:10:12 Scholz: We have to worry about far-right gains

The European election result was bad for all of Germany’s government coalition parties, Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Monday.

Mr Scholz’s Social Democratic Party (SDP) came third behind the Christian Democratic Union(CDU) and the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) in the weekend’s election.

“No one is well advised to simply go back to business as usual,” said Mr Scholz said in a news conference in Berlin, adding that the gains far-right parties made are worrying and should not become normalised.

“We have to worry about that. You can never get used to it, and it always has to be the task to push them back again,” he said.

Mr Scholz also said he was in favour of making a decision on the EU’s leadership quickly, adding that the European Commission president must rely on a democratic majority of traditional democratic parties in the European Parliament.

16:54:13 Jordan Bardella: Who is 28-year-old far-right leader who could be France’s next prime minister?

Jordan Bardella joined what was then France’s National Front at the age of 16.

That same year in 2012, party leader Marine Le Pen made her first failed bid for the French presidency, finishing in third place.

In the next two presidential elections in 2017 and 2022, Ms Le Pen – the daughter of the National Front founder Jean-Marie Le Pen – improved her vote share – so why did she put a then 27-year-old Mr Bardella in charge instead?

In 2022, Ms Le Pen made the tactical decision to install a much younger candidate as party leader.

This would allow her to focus on her presidential campaign bid for 2027 and continue with her long-term rebrand of the party, which changed its name from the National Front to National Rally (RN) in 2018 to remove the last of her father’s influence – she threw him out of the party in 2015.

Mr Bardella had already been appointed vice president in 2019 and, in the same year, had become the second-youngest MEP in European history.

He had also served as RN spokesperson and president of its youth wing Generation Nation (Nation Generation), formerly Front National de la Jeunesse (National Front of the Youth), with the guidance of media trainer and ex-journalist Pascal Humeau.

Dr Itay Lotem, senior lecturer in French studies at the University of Westminster, says Ms Le Pen saw him as a “good investment for the future” as he was “a young, fresh face that she could control”.

“He was well-known as a person who followed party lines rather than having his own thoughts, while presenting a very smooth face that fitted Le Pen’s detoxification programme,” he adds.

Get the full story here..

16:50:01 Jordan Bardella: Who is 28-year-old far-right leader who could be France’s next prime minister?

Jordan Bardella joined what was then France’s National Front at the age of 16.

That same year in 2012, party leader Marine Le Pen made her first failed bid for the French presidency, finishing in third place.

In the next two presidential elections in 2017 and 2022, Ms Le Pen – the daughter of the National Front founder Jean-Marie Le Pen – improved her vote share – so why did she put a then 27-year-old Mr Bardella in charge instead?

In 2022, Ms Le Pen made the tactical decision to install a much younger candidate as party leader.

This would allow her to focus on her presidential campaign bid for 2027 and continue with her long-term rebrand of the party, which changed its name from the National Front to National Rally (RN) in 2018 to remove the last of her father’s influence – she threw him out of the party in 2015.

Mr Bardella had already been appointed vice president in 2019 and, in the same year, had become the second-youngest MEP in European history.

He had also served as RN spokesperson and president of its youth wing Generation Nation (Nation Generation), formerly Front National de la Jeunesse (National Front of the Youth), with the guidance of media trainer and ex-journalist Pascal Humeau.

Dr Itay Lotem, senior lecturer in French studies at the University of Westminster, says Ms Le Pen saw him as a “good investment for the future” as he was “a young, fresh face that she could control”.

“He was well-known as a person who followed party lines rather than having his own thoughts, while presenting a very smooth face that fitted Le Pen’s detoxification programme,” he adds.

Get the full story here..

16:20:01 Scandal-hit EU candidate excluded from far-right German party

The far-right Alternative for Germany party (AfD) has voted to exclude their scandal-hit top candidate from their delegation to the European Parliament.

The AfD finished second in the EU elections in Germany with 15.9% of the votes, which will be projected to result in 15 seats.

But Maximilian Krah will not be one of them, he announced on X.

“I think this is wrong and sends a devastating signal to our voters, especially our young voters,” Mr Krah said.

He was already banned from campaigning ahead of the European election after a series of scandals.

Authorities in Brussels searched his offices at the European Parliament in connection with an assistant who was arrested last month on suspicion of spying for China.

All AfD lawmakers were expelled from the right-wing Identity and Democracy group in the European Parliament after Mr Krah told an Italian newspaper that not all members of the Nazis’ elite SS unit were war criminals.

Alice Weidel, co-leader of the AfD, did not address the situation, and instead called for a general election. 

“This election result also shows that the coalition government no longer has a majority. Chancellor Scholz should actually follow the example, the very good example of Emmanuel Macron, and clear the way for new elections,” she said.

“And that is also our demand, to call a vote of confidence in the German Bundestag and clear the way for new elections in the German Bundestag.”

15:49:01 In pictures: Le Pen and Bardella arrive at National Rally party headquarters

National Rally (NR) were the clear winners in France’s European election, taking more than double the total of seats than President Emmanuel Macron’s central alliance.

As such, it’s no wonder to see a beaming smile across the face of NR leader Marine Le Pen after she arrived at the party’s headquarters today.

Also arriving was the party’s president Jordan Bardella, who, if NR win France’s snap parliamentary election, will become the country’s prime minister at the age of just 28.

15:20:01 EU results explained: Sweden bucks trend with far-right in retreat

Sweden proved to be one of the few European countries in which the far-right is in retreat and the Greens are surging.

The Sweden Democrats faced its first electoral setback, coming fourth with 13.2% of the vote, down 2.2%, according to preliminary figures.

They came in behind the opposition Social Democrats (24.9%), Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson’s conservative Moderates (17.5%) and the Greens (13.8%), which made some of the largest gains.

The poor showing by the Sweden Democrats was “the election night’s greatest sensation,” said Mats Knutson, the political analyst with Swedish broadcaster SVT.

He said the reasons for the poor showing could be that the party faced a storm of criticism after a television station alleged it had been operating fake social media accounts, badmouthing political opponents and allies and spreading doctored videos.

Migration was also not as important to voters in northern Europe, said Christine Nissen, an analyst with the Copenhagen-based thinktank Europa.

14:55:22 Spain’s labour minister steps down following election results

Spain’s labour minister and one of the country’s three deputy prime ministers, Yolanda Diaz, has announced she is stepping down as leader of the left-wing Sumar alliance following its poor showing in the European elections.

Sumar, which was brought together last year to help fend off the far-right during Spain’s general election, won only three seats. The United Left coalition – one of Sumar’s core members – failed to gain a single seat.

As a result, Ms Diaz has decided to step down as Sumar coordinator, though she will continue with her ministerial duties.

“These last elections have acted as a mirror,” Ms Díaz said in a streamed statement on Monday afternoon.

“People don’t make mistakes when they vote – and neither do they make mistakes if they decide not to vote.

“That’s always our responsibility – and, without a doubt, in this case, that’s my responsibility. The people have spoken and I’m taking responsibility. I’ve decided to leave my post as Sumar coordinator. 

“There needs to be a debate and my decision paves the way for that debate.”

14:50:01 New EU Parliament makeup at a glance

There are 720 elected members of the European Parliament, sent there by 27 different countries.

Each of those countries send MEPs that are more often than not from a number of different parties.

Rather than operate in an unmanageably fractured assembly made up of dozens of parties making decisions alone, they group into various alliances that paint a (somewhat) clearer picture of the parliament’s political makeup.

Here, we take a look at the provisional makeup while results are finalised and negotiations for new, not-yet-aligned members are ongoing.

EPP – The European People’s Party: Centre-right, advocates for NATO, European single market, defence and a crackdown on migration. Its top candidate is European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

S&D – The Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats: Centre-left, advocates for affordable energy, social and environmental equality, fighting tax fraud, the gender pay gap. In favour of enlarging the EU and increasing defence.

Renew Europe: Advocates expanding defence capabilities, EU enlargement and integration, free trade, the single market, individual freedoms and financial efficiency.

ECR –  European Conservatives and Reformists Group: Right-wing, Eurosceptic. Advocates for the preservation of national identity, maintaining member state control over defence, and stricter border security measures.

ID – Identity and Democracy Group: Right-wing, Eurosceptic. Returning power to member states.

Greens/EFA – The Greens/European Free Alliance: Left-wing, focused on climate change and social justice. Advocates for affordable housing, abortion rights and lower taxes on middle-class people.

The Left: Left-wing. Advocates for climate, labour rights and human rights. Calls for the EU to act as a peacemaker in Ukraine and Israel. Opposes NATO expansion.

NI refers to those members that were not aligned in the last parliament and remain as such, while Others refers to newly elected members who are not yet allied.

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