BRUSSELS - European Parliamentary elections fulfilled the worst fears for many this week as parties prophesying the fall of European culture to Islam and blaming immigrants for rising unemployment and squeezed public finances made dramatic gains across the continent.

A recurring theme seemed to be voters rejecting the European Union project in favor of national stereotypes – from the U.K. Independence Party's Nigel Farage and his tiresome appearances drinking bitter in local pubs, to the Front National's Marine Le Pen, the pragmatic Parisienne who likens herself to Joan of Arc.

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