“The results of the first round of the French presidential elections represent an opportunity for Europe, because political thinking on new kinds of solutions may now gain renewed impetus”, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó told Hungarian news agency MTI by telephone on Monday.

In his statement, the Minister explained: “The results of the first round of the French presidential elections is a serious lesson for Europe: it has become clear that the French reject the European political approaches practices until now”. “The two large French political parties which have until now determined the politics of France and Europe received only around a quarter of the votes. This clearly indicates that French citizens are also looking for new solutions with regard to the future of Europe”, he said.

According to Mr. Szijjártó, the French have made a decision on the fact that the political line that has led to difficulties in Europe cannot provide a solution to the challenges faced by the continent. “The decision of French voters is clear: the debate on the future of Europe requires new political approaches”, he explained.

In the Hungarian Foreign Minister’s opinion, the fact that the French have rejected the European political thinking practiced until now represents a great opportunity for Europe. “Because thinking on new kinds of solutions may now gain renewed impetus”, Mr. Szijjártó pointed out.

According to the official results of the elections published by the French Ministry of Interior on Monday evening, independent centrist politician Emmanuel Macron finished in first place in the first round of the French presidential elections on Sunday with 24.01 percent of the votes, with radical National Front candidate Marine Le Pen coming in second with 21.3 percent of the votes. The second and final round on 7 May will be decided between these two candidates.

(MTI)