Marine Le Pen, leader of France's far-right National Front political party, delviers a speech to supporters in Brugieres, France, September 23, 2017. REUTERS/Eric Cabanis/Pool

PARIS (Reuters) - French far-right leader Marine Le Pen congratulated the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party on its breakthrough result in Sunday’s German parliamentary election.

“Bravo to our AfD allies for this historic showing! It is a new sign that the people of Europe are waking up,” tweeted Le Pen, the leader of France’s National Front who reached the run-off of the French presidential election in May.

According to early projections, the AfD was set not only to enter the national parliament for the first time, but to become Germany’s third-biggest party with 13.5 percent. It is the first time that the far-right has been represented in the parliament for more than half a century.