Hollande congratulates Merkel on election victory

French President Francois Hollande congratulated German Chancellor Angela Merkel on her party's victory in parliamentary elections and her winning of new term in office. "The President of the Republic has congratulated Angela Merkel on her success at the federal elections," said a press release from the French Presidency. The Unofficial results of the German parliamentary elections showed Merkel's Party's in advance. According to the semi-government ARD and ZDF broadcaster's figures, Merkel's Christian Democrats secured over 42 percent of the votes. The Social Democrats got 26 percent according to the initial figures. Both the Greens and the Left party cleared the five-percent hurdle; the Greens were placed at around eight percent and the Left at 8.5 percent. In their phone conversation, the statement stated that "both (leaders) expressed their will to keep working together tirelessly to the rapprochement of France and Germany, and pursue their tight cooperation to face the new challenges of the European construction". The French President invited his German counterpart to visit Paris as soon as she forms the new government