Five points to remember from the European elections

The AFP selects five takeaways at the time of the first results in Europe:

Far right, the populists advance

The first results and projections suggested that the Eurosceptic far right French party led by Marine Le Pen was about to finish top of the French standings, with 1.2 to 1.5% ahead of schedule. ruling faction of President Emmanuel Macron.

In Italy, the right-wing Matteo Salvini League should also vote well, and exit polls have indicated that the Flemish far right is ready for a good performance in Belgium.

The German far-right AfD should improve its 2014 score of 7.1% with exit polls at 10.5%.

Before the vote, European officials feared that the far right will win 200 of the 751 seats and the national gathering in Le Pen on Sunday called for the formation of a "powerful group" in the European Parliament.

But observers doubt the populists' ability to form an effective coalition, and the main centrist blocs could welcome the liberal and green members into a larger alliance to contain the threat.

Green surge

Green political parties have behaved well all over Europe, reflecting how much the issue of climate change has been put on the agenda, as young activists champion the cause.

In Germany, the Greens were on the verge of pbading the center-left SPD, partner of Chancellor Angela Merkel, in second place.

Exit polls also showed that the French Green Party EEVL, led by a former high representative of Greenpeace France, achieved strong gains with a score of 12-12.7%, against 8.9% in the last elections 2014 Europeans.

Through school strikes, civil disobedience and large-scale marches, the movements have been successful in highlighting how human behavior threatens the future of the planet.

Blows for leaders

Macron had not concealed the importance he attached to the results and the performance of his party would likely be considered a major setback for the president two years after the start of his five-year term.

But the Elysee has sought to give a brave face to the indications, saying the performance was "respectable" after information would have indicated that a bad presentation could lead to a cabinet reshuffle.

The night was not better for Merkel, as exit polls showed that the list of her center-right bloc was due only about 28%.

Elsewhere, Greek voters have sidelined Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras' Syriza party behind the opposition conservative NDP party.

However, one of the leaders of the European Union was Hungarian nationalist prime minister Viktor Orban, whose exit polls from the Fidesz party were about to win a big victory.

Participation jumps

After fearing that voters would not remain in the elections, the turnout in the European Union, with the exception of Britain, was estimated at 51%, the highest rate ever recorded. for 20 years, announced the European Parliament.

In the first election of the European Parliament in 1979, 62% of eligible voters voted in nine Member States at the time.

Since then, the membership has grown to 28, but the participation rate has declined every five years to just over 42% in 2014.

Brexit Britain

Since the last European elections, British voters have decided to leave the EU and polls this week could be the last for the British parties.

Brexit Day itself has been postponed, triggering a crisis for Prime Minister Theresa May's government, and Nigel Farage's Brexit Party should be doing well.

The announcement of the results for Britain will come as the ruling Conservative Party prepares for a leadership race to replace May after announcing his resignation on Friday.

Personalities like the former Foreign Secretary, Boris Johnson, are pbadionate supporters of Brexit.

This, in turn, as well as the performances of the pro-European parties, will influence the debate in other European capitals on the opportunity to grant Great Britain a further Brexit extension.