Marine Le Pen congratulates Donald Trump

The first French presidential candidate to comment on the U.S. election was populist, anti-immigrant politician Marine Le Pen, congratulating Trump even before the final results are known.

Marine Le Pen . Picture: Getty

Le Pen, hoping to ride anti-establishment sentiment to victory in April-May French presidential elections, tweeted her support to the “American people, free!”

French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault said France would continue to work with the new president whoever wins the final tally, though expressed concern about Trump’s lead and said it could hold a cautionary message for Europe.

“We don’t want a world where egoism triumphs,” Ayrault said on France-2 television Wednesday. France’s Socialist government had openly endorsed Clinton.

Ayrault said European politicians should pay attention to the message from Trump voters. “There is a part of our electorate that feels ... abandoned,” including people who feel “left behind” by globalization, he said.

He said a Trump victory could bring “more incertitude” to French politics.