French Markets Surge After Euro Withstands Attack From the Right
The manic swings of the markets — first spooked by the possibility of a Le Pen presidency, then ecstatic over the apparent unraveling of
that possibility — attest to the gnawing fear that the euro could still succumb to whatever blow history delivers next.
Her strength in polls in recent weeks prompted investors to demand greater returns on French government debt, a sign
that the odds of default — however minute — were multiplying.
A Le Pen presidency could spook them into unloading some of it, increasing borrowing costs for the French government and the business world.
Le Pen had moderated her positions in recent weeks as her election has gained plausibility,
her hostility for the European Union and the euro are well known.
The French Parliament and Constitution would severely constrain a President Le Pen.
Le Pen appeared to see her electoral fortunes expand in recent months, the markets construed yet another direct threat to the euro’s sustainability.