PARIS ¨C Adversaries of Marine Le Pen expressed relief on Thursday after her ally Geert Wilders won fewer seats than expected in a Dutch election, but analysts warned against reading too much into the result ahead of France¡¯s tight presidential race.
They said far-right leader Le Pen¡¯s campaign in France is better planned and targeted than that of Wilders¡¯ party, while a standoff between the Dutch and Turkish governments had given a ¡°one-off¡± boost to incumbent Dutch prime minister Mark Rutte.
Center-right Rutte¡¯s decisive victory over anti-immigrant euroskeptic Wilders delighted European Union leaders and others concerned about rising populism across the bloc in the wake of last year¡¯s shock Brexit vote.
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