Le Pen won with 23,3 percent of the vote, according to exit polls published by Ipsos/Sopra Steria on Sunday night, while President Emmanuel Macron’s La République En Marche (LREM) only came in second, with an estimated 22,1 percent.
And according to the ELABE exit poll, the RN party was leading the Sunday election with 24,2 percent of votes. The RN party’s top candidate was the youthful Jordan Bardella, aged 23. The LREM list was headed by Natalie Loiseau, a former Minister for European affairs.
“The president of the republic must draw conclusions […] There is at least one more thing, in my opinion, [to be done: that is] the dissolution of the National Assembly to make the voting system more democratic and finally representing the real opinion of the country”, Le Pen said, broadcast live by the BFMTV channel.
She added that “the trust that the French have put in us, calling us the first party and… the movement of the future change, is a great honor”.
“The decline of the old parties and the bi-polarisation between the RN and LREM confirms that the new division between nationalists and globalists that now dominates our political life is a lasting phenomenon,” Le Pen said.
According to Bardella, the French people “have made their voices heard and has imposed a clear sanction and a lesson of humility on the President of the Republic”. He called his party’s victory “an immense satisfaction for all those who have never ceased to believe in France” on Twitter.
Aujourd'hui, le peuple français a fait entendre sa voix et a infligé une sanction claire et une leçon d'humilité au Président de la République.
C'est une satisfaction immense pour tous ceux qui n'ont jamais cessé de croire en la FRANCE !#LaVictoireDuPeuple pic.twitter.com/Z92bTSiOCA
— Jordan Bardella (@J_Bardella) May 26, 2019
The former special adviser to Nicolas Sarkozy said the elections on Sunday night were marked by the radicalization of opinions. “Those who are nothings”, as Emmanuel Macron had called them, “want to be something and to be heard by all means,” said Henri Guaino.
Guaino said most French voters voted against rather than for. “We are still in a phase of revolt,” he added.
Philippe Vardon, RN vice president of the Paca region, was delighted after the high score of his party, who came first in this European election cycle. “We worked throughout this campaign, and until the end, to get these results. Friday we were still pasting posters in my area,” he said.
“We got more votes than in 2014! It is a victory, undoubtedly, and even as some commentators called us dead in 2017, the day after the presidential elections”.
About the defeat of the Republicans party, Philippe Vardon believes “that there is no longer room for ambiguity”. Vardon also called for the dissolution of the National Assembly which should, according to him, “represent the people”.
“There is a crisis of democracy, already expressed by the movement of Yellow Vests”, he noted, before concluding: “Emmanuel Macron governs alone.”