Emmanuel Macron and Olaf Scholz have been hit with defeat in European Parliament election exit polls.

The French President suffered a heavy defeat in the exit polls, with Marine Le Pen's National Rally party sealing a definitive win that underlines her credentials as frontrunner for France's 2027 presidential vote.

In Germany, the hard-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) took second place behind the opposition conservatives with 16.5 per cent of the vote, up from 11 per cent in 2019, according to an exit poll published by public broadcaster ARD.

Emmanuel Macron and Olaf Scholz