France worried by victory of far-right's AfD in German state election
French ministers voice grave concern over a 'populist wave' after the AfD secured 43.8% in Saxony-Anhalt, a historic surge that stops short of state power.
- On Sunday, September 6, 2026, the Alternative for Germany surged to first place in Saxony-Anhalt's state election with 43.8% of the vote, marking the strongest far-right showing at the state level since World War II.
- Preliminary projections indicate the party will hold 39 of the 83 seats in the state parliament, leaving the AfD short of the 42-seat absolute majority required to govern alone.
- Lead candidate Ulrich Siegmund said "We have made history in this country," casting the victory as a first step toward securing national power in 2029, while the centre-right CDU took around 17.2 percent of the vote.
- French Finance Minister Roland Lescure described the result as a "very, very worrying signal," warning of a spreading populist wave, while European Affairs Minister Benjamin Haddad called it "a very grave moment for Europe."
- Former Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and Italian Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini celebrated the performance as a "huge night" for the continent, signaling how the AfD is leveraging regional momentum to bolster broader nationalist agendas.
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70 Articles
The various political parties reacted quickly to the victory of Alternative for Germany on Sunday, each analyzing the results and its causes from their perspective. At the National Rally, this victory aroused more discomfort, as the RN broke with the AfD in the European Parliament in 2024 after ambiguous remarks on Nazism.
Far-right victory in Germany expected to send shockwaves throughout the world
Germany’s far-right AfD party won a state election in the eastern state of Saxony-Anhalt on Sunday. Some experts say the victory sends a message to right-wing populists throughout the world that the political tides are in their favour.
'We’re all in crisis': Populist far-right 'trend' sweeping across Europe
Annette Young is pleased to welcome our international affairs editor, Philip Turle, and Sylvie Bermann, France's first female ambassador to three member countries of the United Nations Security Council: China, the United Kingdom and Russia. The AfD’s breakthrough in Saxony-Anhalt should be understood, according to Sylvie Bermann, as part of a wider transformation of European politics rather than as an isolated German electoral shock. Brexit and …
The German ultra-right AfD has razed in the regional elections and the result has resounded across Europe.
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