Following strong results from far-right parties in EU elections that forced French President Emmanuel Macron to call an early parliamentary election and plunge the bloc into political unrest, Europe’s stock markets and the euro fell sharply on Monday.
\nParis led the losses, which fell more than two percent at one point after Macron declared late on Sunday that he was holding a general election and dissolving the National Assembly, the lower house of the French Parliament.<\/p>\n
Macron’s political risk was prompted by the fact that far-right French parties, such as National Rally, secured nearly 40% of the vote in the country’s EU poll.<\/p>\n
Following the news, the euro dropped against the dollar and the pound, and stocks in Frankfurt and London also fell.<\/p>\n
The hard-right performed exceptionally well in the Netherlands and came in second place, behind the SPD party of Chancellor Olaf Scholz, but ahead of the far-right parties in France, Italy, and Austria.<\/p>\n
“The snap election in France has exacerbated the unexpected waves roiling around financial markets,” stated Susannah Streeter, head of money and markets at stockbroker Hargreaves Lansdown.<\/p>\n
“Investors are evaluating Macron’s risk in trying to regain control following the far-right voter movement in France and Germany during the EU elections.<\/p>\n