(Reuters) – French banks plunged on the stock market on Friday amid concerns over the political situation in France and the country’s borrowing costs, which have soared since President Emmanuel Macron decided to call legislative elections anticipated.
At 08:32 GMT, Société Générale BNP Paribas and Crédit Agricole lost more than 3% on the Paris Stock Exchange, among the biggest drops in the CAC 40, which lost 1.5%.
The European banking sector fell by 1.94%.
In addition to banks, stocks in the construction sector and public works concessions, such as Saint-Gobain, Thales and Veolia, are also falling.
The markets are particularly concerned about the outcome of the next French legislative elections on June 30 and July 7, particularly after the comments of the Minister of the Economy Bruno Le Maire on the financing of the French debt if the projects of the National Rally (RN) or the alliance of left-wing parties come to fruition.
Bruno le Maire declared on Friday on franceinfo that with the projects of the far left and the far right, France’s debt could not be financed.
These comments led to a further decline in French stocks on Friday, already battered since the start of the week after the unexpected announcement of early elections.
The gap between French and German 10-year bond yields has since widened.
(Written by Diana Mandiá)
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