Macron's nightmare: Marine Le Pen hails anti-EU Dutch election win as poll points to victory in France too

She said: “Congratulations to Geert Wilders and the PVV for their spectacular performance in the legislative elections which confirms the growing attachment to the defence of national identities.

“It is because there are people who refuse to see the national torch extinguished that the hope for change remains alive in Europe.”

WATCH NOW: Geert Wilders claims victory in yesterday's Dutch election

Wilders received around 23.5 per cent of the vote, with particularly strong levels of support in rural and coastal places.

The result will likely come as a boost to Le Pen’s National Rally as French voters continue to turn on Macron.

An OpinionWay ahead of next summer’s EU Elections put National Rally on 28 per cent, five points up compared to the last election.

Macron’s Renaissance Party, which was neck-and-neck with National Rally in 2019, now trails by nine points.

The French President, who recently slammed the two-term limit, decisively beat Le Pen in the last two general elections.

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Macron won the second ballot by 10 million votes in 2017 but his lead was cut to just five million in 2022.

Opinion polls ahead of the 2027 French Presidential Election are few and far between but the latest Odoxa survey suggested Le Pen would defeat Macron by 54 per cent to 46 per cent.

The result would mark a drastic improvement in fortunes for the French far-right, with Le Pen’s father Jean-Marie Le Pen winning just 17.7 per cent of the second round vote in 2002.

Support for the Dutch Freedom Party soared after Mark Rutte resigned as Prime Minister over a row about immigration.

Despite leading the Freedom Party to its best ever result, it is unclear whether the Wilders will succeed the Netherlands' longest-serving Prime Minister.

However, speaking after his victory, 60-year-old said: “The PVV can no longer be ignored. We will govern.”

Frans Timmermans, from the left-wing GroenLinks–PvdA, won 25 seats on 15.5 per cent of the vote.

The centre-right People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) appears to have fallen victim to an insurgence of the left and right after it lost 10 seats to return just 24 MPs and was reduced to third place.

Pieter Omtzigt’s New Social Contract, which was only founded in August 2023, finished in fourth with 20 seats and 12.8 per cent of the vote.

However, Wilders might find is difficult to create a coalition which will get him the 76 MPs needed to become Prime Minister due to his hardline populist policy positions.

He controversially compared the Koran to Mein Kampf, demanded the end of building mosques in the Netherlands, wants to ban people from holding dual nationality and plans to retract any apologies for slavery.

Wilders also proposed a referendum on leaving the European Union and is considered a proponent of ‘Nexit’.

The situation could mean Dutch voters go to the polls again if long and protracted negotiations prove unsuccessful.

Wilders' best-chance of becoming Prime Minister would come if the VVD swallows its pride and the New Social Contract follows suit to form a right-wing coalition.

However, such a situation seems unlikely given vehement opposition to Wilders from the VVD’s more liberal-leaning members, particularly over his anti-Islam views.