Le Pen beats Macron in France as nationalists gain in EU vote

Le Pen beats Macron in France as nationalists gain in EU vote
French right-wing National Front leader Marine Le Pen attends a press conference in Denain near Lille, France on Jan. 27, 2017. Sylvain Lefevre/Getty Images
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BRUSSELS—Marine Le Pen edged just ahead of President Emmanuel Macron in exit polls as French voters led what pollsters expected to be a nationalist surge in an EU parliament election on May 26.

The defeat was narrow—just one seat—but a bitter one for those who hope the French leader can inspire Europeans to embrace the Union as an answer rather than part of the problem in the face of what for many is nerve-wracking social change.