The Latest: Le Pen lauds League's showing in Italian vote
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The Latest on Italy's parliamentary election (all times local):
French far-right leader Marine Le Pen is celebrating the strong showing of the anti-immigrant, euroskeptic League party in Italy's election.
Le Pen, the runnerup in last year's French presidential election and a loud critic of the European Union, tweeted Monday: "The spectacular advance and top showing of the League coalition led by our ally and friend Matteo Salvini is a new stage in the awakening of the people!" Le Pen didn't mention the strong showing of the League's rival, the 5-Star movement.
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As the initial results came in, Le Pen also tweeted, "The European Union is having a bad evening...."
Le Pen's National Front party has lost steam and been in crisis since her crushing presidential defeat by pro-European centrist Emmanuel Macron.
Macron didn't immediately comment on the Italian result.
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Alexis Corbiere of the far-left Defiant France party said Monday on BFM television, "There is a deep wish for change in Europe. If a progressive, civic-minded force doesn't take the lead, you will manufacture monsters."
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8:20 a.m.
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Preliminary results released by Italy's interior ministry show the center-right coalition winning about 37 percent of the parliamentary vote and the 5-Star Movement getting about 31 percent, with the center-left coalition far behind with 23 percent.
With no faction winning a clear majority, the results early Monday confirm that negotiations to form a government that can win a confidence vote in Parliament will likely be long and fraught.
The partial results show the right-wing, anti-immigrant and euroskeptic League party of Matteo Salvini surpassing the establishment Forza Italia party of ex-Premier Silvio Berlusconi. The League captured around 18 percent, while Forza Italia had less than 14 percent.
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The results confirm the defeat of the two main political forces that have dominated Italian politics — Forza Italia and the center-left.