France stars celebrate 'the people's victory' as National Rally suffer snap election defeat - after Kylian Mbappe's 'urgent' call for people to vote against a move towards the far right

Several members of France's Euro 2024 squad have been celebrating 'the people's victory' and have expressed their 'relief' after Marine Le Pen's far-right party, National Rally, suffered defeat in the country's snap election on Sunday.

While Didier Deschamp's side have advanced to the semi-finals of Euro 2024, some of his players have been vocal on their political stance against Le Pen's party. Kylian Mbappe, Marcus Thuram and Jules Kounde have all previously called for young people to vote in the snap election to stop National Rally from gaining power.

National Rally were pushed to third in the ballot, in what was a shocking defeat for Le Pen. New Popular Front alliance (NFP) - led by Jean-Luc Melenchon - claimed a majority victory, amassing 182 seats in the French Parliament while Emmanuel Macron's Ensemble 'Together' placed second with 168 seats.

It has been a busy weekend for the country, with their national football team eking out a victory against Portugal on penalties on Friday night, to set up a mouth-watering tie against Spain in Tuesday's semi-final.

But on Sunday, several French stars took to social media to express their delight and 'relief' that Le Pen's far-right party did not sweep a majority vote.

Voters turned out in record numbers on Sunday, with Thuram writing to congratulate all those who had cast their ballot on Instagram.

'Congratulations to all those who responded to the danger hovering over our beautiful country,' the Inter Milan forward, 26, wrote on his Instagram story.

'Long live diversity, long live the republic, long live France. The fight goes on.'

Thuram had previously spoken passionately on the subject, calling on younger voters to cast their ballots and was subsequently backed by his captain, Mbappe.

Kounde, meanwhile, revealed that he had also been left 'worrying' over the election result in recent weeks and was 'relieved' by the outcome.

'The relief is equal to the worry of recent weeks, it is immense,' Kounde wrote on X (formerly Twitter).

'Congratulations to all the French people who mobilized so that this beautiful country that is France does not find itself governed by the extreme right,' he wrote, adding a 'clapping hands' emoji and a French flag.

Konate, meanwhile, simply posted several 'stop sign' emojis, two French flags and a 'clapping hands' emoji, while Aurelien Tchouameni added: 'The people's victory.'

Dembele also took to social media to post a picture of himself smiling with a big grin on his Instagram story, before also reposting a graphic showing the projected results of the election from France 24.

Tchouameni reposted the image of Dembele on his Instagram, adding the caption 'Mood' with a 'smiling' emoji.

During the Euros, several players, including Thuram and Mbappe have been vocal on the political situation in France, with the Real Madrid star calling on young people to vote.

'It is an urgent juncture. We cannot let our country fall into the hands of these people,' he told a press conference in Hamburg last week.

'It is pressing - we saw the results, it is catastrophic. I think now, more than ever, you need to get (out to vote).'

Yet, Mbappe was slammed by Le Pen on Sunday, who urged the France captain to stop dictating to members of the public over how they should vote.

'The French are tired of being lectured and advised on how to vote. This election is a vote of emancipation in which the French want to regain control of their destiny and vote as they see fit,' she said to CNN France.

'Mbappe does not represent the French with a migrant background, because there are many more of them who live on the minimum wage, who cannot afford housing or heating, than people like Mr Mbappe.'