Investors show cautious optimism over French snap election results

Political volatility to persist

A hung parliament will halt the far left from pushing with policies that would otherwise harm markets, several fund managers have argued.

The reactions came after the far left New Popular Front — a broad coalition between the socialists, greens, communists, and Jean-Luc Melenchon's France Unbowed party — came in first, winning 182 seats in the National Assembly. These latest results took experts and markets by surprise, who had priced in a victory for Marine Le Pen's far right Rassemblement National party. However, Le Pen's party failed to secure a majority and fell instead on third place (143 seats), behind the New Popular Front and French president Emmanuel Macron's Ensemble bloc (163 seats). Market Movers Blog: Marke...