Le Pen hails the march of anti-migration forces across Europe

Ms Le Pen’s victory in this year’s European elections was so commanding, Emmanuel Macron called snap elections that led to a Right-wing government.

The Patriots for Europe group wants to claw back powers taken by Brussels from national governments and reform the EU.

Geert Wilders, the veteran eurosceptic, won elections in the Netherlands last year. Despite leading his Party for Freedom to a convincing victory, he did not become prime minister. His calls for a Nexit referendum and for the Koran to be banned were too controversial for his eventual coalition partners.

“The Netherlands, Hungary, Belgium, Italy, Germany, Portugal, Sweden, France, Spain, Czech Republic and today Austria! We are winning! Times are changing!,” he said on X.

“Identity, sovereignty, freedom and no more illegal immigration/asylum is what tens of millions of Europeans long for.”

Viktor Orban, the prime minister of Hungary, said, “Another win for the Patriots: a historic victory for FPO in Austria! Congratulations to Herbert Kickl!”

Friendly towards Russia

Mr Orban is a veteran of many battles with Brussels over sovereignty, migration and opposition to Western sanctions on Russia for the illegal war in Ukraine.

The FPO is also pro-Putin, eurosceptic and anti-migrant. “The government of the state is increasingly no longer in Vienna, but in Brussels,” its manifesto said.

“The space of the state is being eliminated by the de facto principle of open borders.The people of the state are gradually being replaced by permanent mass immigration.”

Led by the 55-year-old Mr Kickl, the FPO won 28.8 per cent of the vote, ahead of the centre-Right OVP on 26.3 per cent, and the centre-Left Social Democrats (SPO) on 21.1 per cent according to exit polls.

“We’ve made Austrian history because it’s the first time the Freedom Party is number one in a parliamentary election, and you have to think how far we’ve come,” Mr Kickl said after the party’s record showing, which came seven decades after its foundation in the 1950s under the leadership of a former Nazi lawmaker.