ROME -- EU Commission President Romano Prodi said on Friday the surprise success of Extreme Right leader Jean-Marie Le Pen in France's first round presidential elections was a "necessary shock" that should fortify Europe.

"If it means that heads of government begin to understand the importance of a strong, guiding Europe which galvanizes young people, then I agree that the French vote was a necessary shock," left-wing paper ***L'Unita quoted Prodi as saying.

"The fragmentation of the Left has allowed the success of the National Front in France. Le Pen's proposals are absurdities that lead to hate," he added.

The anti-European Union, anti-immigration Le Pen gained a surprise 17 percent of the vote, enough to join President Jacques Chirac in a second-round runoff on May 5 and beat out Socialist Prime Minister Lionel Jospin.

Prodi said Le Pen's victory would force him to make his views on issues like immigration painfully clear to voters.

"It might sound strange but in a way I am glad that Le Pen has made his line clearer, setting out a list of proposals that the French people will never accept," Prodi said.

Prodi said the strength of the united EU would form a powerful force to fight extreme Right-Wing sentiment.

"Le Pen feeds on fears. To fight him we must nourish hope .... enlargement, for example, represents the end of nationalism and wars in Europe," he said.