French president holds emergency meeting after far right dominates vote

PARIS – French President Francois Hollande is holding an emergency meeting with top government ministers after the far right National Front emerged as France's most popular party in voting for the European Parliament.

Hollande's Socialist Party finished a distant third in Sunday's voting. He summoned a special meeting Monday morning to address the results, which Prime Minister Manuel Valls called an "earthquake."

Valls pledged Monday to stick with tax and spending cuts that he argues will ease the pain for voters who rejected the governing party out of frustration with unemployment and economic difficulty.

The National Front led sweeping gains for far right and Euroskeptic parties in the European Parliament elections Sunday. Many voters, however, cast ballots for domestic reasons, to express disappointment in mainstream national parties.