French far-right to form first Senate parliamentary group, early results show

Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally made significant gains in elections to the French Senate on Sunday, securing a parliamentary group in the upper house for the first time, French media reported on the basis of near-final election results.

In a post on social media, Le Pen spoke of a “historic victory” and a “major milestone” even before the full results were available.

“The results have exceeded all our expectations; the breakthrough is comprehensive, confirming the growing popularity of the National Rally across the whole country,” she wrote.