US Election 2016: French far-right leader congratulates Donald Trump

France's far-right National Front party leader Marine Le Pen congratulated Donald Trump on Wednesday as he looked set for a shock victory in the US presidential election.

"Congratulations to the new president of the United States Donald Trump and to the free American people!" she said on Twitter.

Opinion polls show Le Pen likely to win the first round of French presidential elections in 2017, but lose in the second round to whoever should be her opponent.

Her father, party founder Jean-Marie Le Pen who reached the second round of French presidential elections in 2002, added his voice. "Today the United States, tomorrow France," he tweeted, while National Front deputy leader Florian Philippot followed up with a tweet saying "their world is crumbling. Ours is building."

France's National Front has been building support for its anti-immigration, anti-European Union stance in recent years.

US Republican nominee Trump was on Wednesday won the White House with a series of shock wins in key states such as Florida and Ohio, rattling world markets that had expected Democrat Hillary Clinton to defeat the political outsider.