As heads rolled over the European Parliament election results in several countries, French president François Hollande went on TV to respond to the shock victory of far-right Front National.

Exit polls from the Netherlands suggest anti-EU sentiment might be levelling off as decidedly pro-EU parties came out on top, but the message from Britain appears to be very different with Ukip clear winners.

France’s far-right National Front leader Marine Le Pen told a Sunday paper that she expects her party to get enough votes in the May 22 to 25 European elections to form a bloc with other Eurosceptics that can stop the EU’s progress.