Brexit Prompts Calls From Other Nations To Leave EU

Several European political leaders called for their nations to leave the European Union after a majority of British voters opted to exit the EU on Thursday.

Marine Le Pen, the head of France's far-right National Front part, on Friday showed her support in a Twitter post for those who voted to leave the 28-member bloc. "Victory for liberty!" she rallied, before calling on her own country to address her nation's place in the EU.

"As I have asked for years, we must now have the same referendum in France and in the countries of the European Union," Le Pen added.

Voters in the United Kingdom surprised the world when they voted by a nearly 5-point margin to abandon the European alliance on Thursday. The value of the British pound has plummeted and markets around the globe are reeling as a result.

Cries for a French exit, or "Frexit," were also matched in the Netherlands, where the leader of the far-right Party for Freedom, Geert Wilders, demanded a vote on a "Nexit."

"The time is now for a new start, trusting in its own strength and sovereignty," Wilders said in a statement to the Financial Times. "Dutch people should have the opportunity as soon as possible to decide on the Dutch membership of the European Union."

Other calls within the U.K. have cast doubt on the future of the Commonwealth itself.

Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said the country had made it clear "the people of Scotland see their future as part of the European Union," implying a similar independence vote to the failed attempt in 2014 may soon be put forward. Scotland almost universally voted to remain a part of the EU during the most recent referendum.

Sinn Fein, Northern Ireland's largest Irish nationalist party, echoed those sentiments on Friday. Chairman Declan Kearney said in a statement the Brexit vote "dramatically changes the political landscape here in the north of Ireland and we will be intensifying our case for the calling of a border poll."

“The British government as a direct result have forfeited any mandate to represent the interests of people here in the north of Ireland in circumstances where the north is dragged out of Europe as a result of a vote to leave.”