John Redwood: Why France matters

John Redwood, chief global strategist at Charles Stanley, comments on the upcoming French presidential election and the potential implications for Europe.

Governments come and go in the euro area. It often makes little difference to investors. The euro sails on; the European Central Bank (ECB) sets interest rate; economic policy has to bow to the deficit requirements and other rules of the EU.  The scope for individual country differentiation is narrow. Countries that defy the scheme deliberately are reined in, as with Greece.  Countries that fail to hit targets in a less provocative way have to try harder next time, as Italy and Belgium have to do with their state debt so far above the permitted maximum, or France occasionally with its...