CNN — Far-right parties are predicted to win a record number of seats in the European Parliament, a result that, if confirmed, would deliver a stinging rebuke to Brussels’ political mainstream and add uncertainty to Europe’s future direction. After three days of voting across the European Union’s 27 member states, an exit poll showed that far-right parties were set to win around 150 of the parliament’s 720 seats, which will likely make it harder for mainstream parties to form majorities needed to pass laws. In a speech late Sunday, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the results showed her European People’s Party (EPP) – predicted to secure the most seats – could still act as an “anchor of stability,” but called on her political allies to help guard against extremist parties. “The center is holding. But it is also true that the extremes on the left and on the right have gained support, and this is why the result comes with great responsibility for the parties in the center,” she told an audience in Brussels. The full results will trickle in on Monday, when the process of coalition-building will begin as Europe’s centrists seek to put aside their differences to see off a resurgent far right. Supporters of the French far-right National Rally party react in Paris after the polls closed during the European Parliament elections on June 9. RELATED ARTICLE Europe’s center ground is shifting further to the right Most of the far-right gains were concentrated in countries that elect large numbers of seats: France, Italy a

CNN — Far-right parties are predicted to win a record number of seats in the European Parliament, a result that, if confirmed, would deliver a stinging rebuke to Brussels’ political mainstream and add uncertainty to Europe’s future direction. After three days of voting across the European Union’s 27 member states, an exit poll showed that far-right parties were set to win around 150 of the parliament’s 720 seats, which will likely make it harder for mainstream parties to form majorities needed to pass laws. In a speech late Sunday, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the results showed her European People’s Party (EPP) – predicted to secure the most seats – could still act as an “anchor of stability,” but called on her political allies to help guard against extremist parties. “The center is holding. But it is also true that the extremes on the left and on the right have gained support, and this is why the result comes with great responsibility for the parties in the center,” she told an audience in Brussels. The full results will trickle in on Monday, when the process of coalition-building will begin as Europe’s centrists seek to put aside their differences to see off a resurgent far right. Supporters of the French far-right National Rally party react in Paris after the polls closed during the European Parliament elections on June 9. RELATED ARTICLE Europe’s center ground is shifting further to the right Most of the far-right gains were concentrated in countries that elect large numbers of seats: France, Italy a

After an exit poll showed Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally (RN) party is expected to trounce his own candidates, French President Emmanuel Macron dissolved his parliament and called a risky snap election, with the first round on June 30.

Initial results showed RN securing 31.5% of the vote, more than double the share of Macron’s Renaissance Party, which scraped to second place on 15.2% of the vote, just ahead of the Socialists in third with 14.3%.

In a celebratory speech at the RN headquarters before Macron’s shock announcement, party leader Jordan Bardella said the “unprecedented defeat for the current government marks the end of a cycle, and Day 1 of the post-Macron era.”