BREAKING NEWS

Merkel congratulates Macron, calls election result "strong vote for reforms"

German Chancellor Angela Merkel congratulated French President Emmanuel Macron on the victory of his party in the first round of parliamentary elections, calling the result a strong vote for reforms.

Projections after the first election round showed on Sunday that Macron's fledgling party is set to trounce France's traditional main parties in the parliamentary election and secure a huge majority to push through his pro-business reforms.

"Chancellor Merkel: My heartfelt congratulations to @EmmanuelMacron to the great success of his party in the first election round. Strong vote for reforms," read the message on a government Twitter account on Monday.