FRANCE 24 explores events across Europe, including in the 27 member states of the European Union and the United Kingdom. Follow our on-the-ground reports, interviews and analyses of the events affecting social and political life on the Continent and Europe’s role in the world.
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Portugual centre right party wins election, falls short of majority
19 May 2025
Portugal's centre-right Democratic Alliance (AD) won Sunday's snap election but fell short of a majority, provisional results showed, with the centre-left Socialists and far-right Chega vying for second place. The vote, Portugal's third in three years, followed PM Luis Montenegro's failure to secure confidence after opposition scrutiny of his family's consultancy dealings.
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Supporters of Nicusor Dan celebrate in Romania’s capital Bucharest
18 May 2025
Romania's centrist Bucharest mayor, Nicusor Dan, appeared on course to win the presidency on Sunday in a shock upset over a hard-right rival who had pledged to put Romania on a path inspired by US President Donald Trump's politics. FRANCE 24 correspondent Maria Gerth-Niculescu said supporters in Bucharest are "chanting, saying that they are relieved and happy that their country is going to continue on its pro-European path".
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Poland: pro-EU candidate narrowly ahead in first round of presidential election
18 May 2025
Rafal Trzaskowski from Poland's ruling centrists Civic Coalition (KO) was seen narrowly ahead in a presidential election first round on Sunday, an exit poll showed, setting up a run-off with rightwing rival Karol Nawrocki to determine if Poland sticks to a pro-European path. Far-right voters are to play a crucial role in second round.
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Liberal candidate loses out in first round of Polish election despite lead in poll
18 May 2025
Liberal Warsaw Mayor Rafal Trzaskowski and a conservative historian, Karol Nawrocki, are the front-runners in a presidential election in Poland on Sunday, an exit poll shows. They will face off in a second round in two weeks. “It can be considered an unsuccessful campaign for Trzaskowski,” said FRANCE 24 correspondent Gulliver Cragg. “Far-right votes add up to over 20 percent, and those are votes that are likely to go to Nawrocki in the second round.”
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Early exit polls favour centrist candidate in Romania presidential election
18 May 2025
Though exit polls showed centrist Bucharest mayor Nicusor Dan on course to win the Romanian presidency on Sunday, FRANCE 24 correspondent on the ground Maria Gerth-Niculescu said “we have to be very careful because these exist polls don’t include the diaspora, who massively voted for George Simion in the first round”.
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Voter turnout 'very high' in Romanian presidential election
18 May 2025
Voter turnout is typically higher in the final round of Romanian presidential elections, and is expected to play a decisive role in the outcome on Sunday. In the first round on May 4, final turnout stood at 9.5 million, or 53% of eligible voters. FRANCE 24 correspondent Maria Gerth-Niculescu in Bucharest said voter turnout was “very high” and that there had been "accusations on both sides of potential attempts to influence the vote, but other than that, voting has been very calm" in the capital.
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Romania: How is the voter turnout in the second round of the presidential election?
18 May 2025
Romanians were voting on Sunday in a tense presidential runoff between a hard-right nationalist and a pro-Western centrist in a high-stakes election rerun that could determine the geopolitical direction of the European Union and NATO member country. Details by FRANCE 24 correspondent in Bucharest, Maria Gerth-Niculescu.
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Zelensky meets Vance as Russian drones pound Ukraine
18 May 2025
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met with US Vice President JD Vance on Sunday, for the first time since the disastrous shouting match in the White House in February, as Russia launched a "record" drone barrage on Kyiv, after talks with Moscow which did not yield a ceasefire. Analysis by Andrea Antonio Verardi, associate professor of Church History in Rome.
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Zelensky sits down with Vance in Rome ahead of planned Trump-Putin call
18 May 2025
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and US Vice President JD Vance held talks in Rome as the White House pressed for an end to Russia's war in Ukraine. It was the first meeting between the two leaders since a disastrous shouting match in the Oval Office in February, when Vance accused Zelensky of being "disrespectful" toward US President Donald Trump.
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'People want change': Romania votes in presidential run-off
18 May 2025
Romania is voting in a tense presidential runoff today between far-right nationalist George Simion and pro-Western centrist Nicusor Dan. FRANCE 24 correspondent Maria Gerth-Niculescu spoke to voters at a polling station in Bucharest. "People want change", she reported, adding that "many voters also want someone who will fight corruption".
