Reactions to Frances Election Result: From Soccer Players to World Leaders

France’s election results, in which a coalition of left-wing and centrist parties staved off the insurgent rise of the far right, are being celebrated around the world—from politicians, like U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, to celebrities, including members of France’s national soccer team who are currently competing in the European Championship in Germany.

“The relief is equal to the worry of recent weeks, it is immense,” France soccer player Jules Koundé posted on X. “Congratulations to all the French people who mobilized so that this beautiful country that is France does not find itself governed by the extreme right.”

Koundé was among several players on the team, including star striker Kylian Mbappé, who had urged people in recent weeks to vote against extremism in the legislative election. Teammates Tchouameni Aurélien, Ousmane Dembélé, Ibrahima Konaté, and Marcus Thuram all also posted celebratory reactions on social media after Sunday’s polls closed.

French actress Marion Cotillard posted hearts on her Instagram stories, which disappear after 24 hours, after the results of the election. French-Italian singer and former France First Lady Carla Bruni reshared a post on her Instagram stories that said “hope” over an image of the front page of the French newspaper Libération while a clip of her song “Liberté” played in the background. And French singer-songwriter VOYOU, who had performed at an anti-far-right rally at the Place de la République in Paris last week, also took to his Instagram stories: “Thank you for the mobilization,” he wrote over a graphic of the election results. “I hope this is only the beginning.”

Non-French celebrities around the world have also remarked on the French election results. English chef and TV presenter Nigella Lawson as well as Scottish singer and musician Stuart Murdoch both posted “Vive la France” on X. Meanwhile, several Americans—including writer Stephen King, filmmaker Joe Russo, and actor Billy Baldwin—noted a pattern of the political right losing in England and then France that they hope to be a harbinger of former U.S. President Donald Trump’s defeat in November.

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Politicians elsewhere have also reveled in the defeat of France’s far right.

The result seemingly had the most resonance throughout Europe, where governments across the continent have faced and continue to face similar challenges. Greek politician Nikos Androulakis, a former member of the European Parliament, called it “a great victory for France and Europe” in a post on X. “With their cumulative participation in the polls, the people of France raised walls against the extreme right, racism and intolerance and guarded the timeless principles of the French Republic: Liberty, Equality and Fraternity.”

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, who had beaten back his country’s populists, posted: “In Paris enthusiasm, in Moscow disappointment, in Kyiv relief. Enough to be happy in Warsaw.” Similarly, Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, who also defeated the far right in his country last year, posted on X that the U.K. and France have now also “said YES to progress and social advancement and NO to the regression in rights and freedoms.” He added: “There is no agreement or government with the extreme right.”

In South America, Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said on X that he was “very happy with the demonstration of greatness and maturity of the political forces in France that united against extremism in today's legislative elections.” And Colombia’s first left-wing President Gustavo Petro shared a similar sentiment in multiple posts on X. “There are battles that last a few days, but in them the fate of humanity is defined,” he wrote. “France has fought one of these battles. The Popular Front has won. The Nazis retreat.”

Meanwhile, in the U.S., self-identified democratic socialist senator from Vermont and former presidential candidate Bernie Sanders posted on X: “Here’s a simple fact: If politicians stand with working families, working families will stand with you. … Congratulations to the French Left for taking on right-wing extremism and winning.”

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