Italy PM Giorgia Meloni insists French legislative elections results not defeat for far right

Marine Le Pen's party came in a surprising third in the snap poll despite expectations of a shocking victory.

Transcript

00:00As reactions pouring from across Europe over the results of the French legislative elections,

00:07Italy's Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni, says no party in France emerged victorious, a comment

00:13where backed by the leader of the League Party, Matteo Salvini, who believes a solid majority

00:19is what's missing.

00:21The reactions come as France looks set to join the seven member states in Europe, including

00:26Italy, where the far-right governs. But on Sunday, the recently formed leftist coalition,

00:32the New Popular Front, pulled off a surprise victory. According to this analyst, there

00:38are reasons for Italy's Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni, to welcome the outcome.

00:43I would say that the defeat of Le Pen is not necessarily negative for Giorgia Meloni, in

00:50the sense that, with a very strong National Assembly, Giorgia Meloni would find herself

00:57playing a secondary role in the far-right campagin at the European level.

01:06Now, with the news that, most likely, the National Assembly will join the group of patriots,

01:13the group formed by Orban, a far-right force within the European Parliament, Giorgia Meloni

01:20could play the role of the most co-operative right-wing, and therefore, with a political

01:27agreement, support the new commission led by Ursula von der Leyen.

01:34For some Italians on the streets of Rome, the upset for the far-right in France portends

01:40many lessons for Italy.

01:43I am happy for how it went, otherwise I would have expected it to go this way.

01:47The far-right has to end the squabbles, as my son said, of the victory it had won before

01:52and consolidate its power.

01:54It's nice that in France, I don't know how many people voted, but young people mobilised

01:59to change the situation. It would be nice if we could involve young people, even adults

02:04who don't vote, in Italy to vote.

02:08While some parts of Europe breathe a sigh of relief that the extreme right was unable

02:13to secure a majority, despite their growing popularity, France braces up for the difficult

02:19process of forming a new government.