France’s far-right Front National party leader Marine Le Pen has congratulated Donald Trump on his increasingly likely election victory.
“Congratulations to the new President of the US, Donald Trump, and the American people – free!” she tweeted as the Republican candidate edged towards the 270 Electoral College votes needed to reach the White House.
Her father, Front National (FN) founder Jean-Marie Le Pen called Mr Trump the “President of the People”, adding: “Today, the United States, tomorrow, France. Bravo!”
Florian Philippot, the party’s vice president, tweeted a photo of Ms Le Pen with the caption: “Their world is collapsing. Ours is being built.”
He claimed the world’s “oligarchy” had been “defeated for the second time after Brexit”.
Other senior FN members were also sharing their excitement, with secretary general Nicolas Bay calling the expected result “the victory of the people against the elites”.
The party has been dogged by accusations of racism, anti-Semitism and neo-Nazism, with Mr Le Pen being expelled for his comments on Holocaust gas chambers.
Right-wing politicians across Europe were reacting to the probable defeat of Hillary Clinton, including Dutch Freedom Party leader Geert Wilders, who wrote: “The people are taking their country back [in the US]. So will we.”
Nigel Farage, who spoke at a Trump rally in August, was hailing the second “great political revolution” of 2016.
“I thought the Brexit was big but boy, this looks like it’s going to be bigger,” the Ukip leader told ITV News.
The comments came as the result of the US election was officially decided, but odds swung dramatically in Mr Trump’s favour after he won key battleground states.
As her widely expected victory looked ever-less likely, Hillary Clinton tweeted: “Whatever happens tonight, thank you for everything.”
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