Paris (awp/afp) – The financial markets have their eyes fixed on the political crisis in France, where the government of Michel Barnier will have to face a motion of censure promised by the La France Insoumise party.
Around 3:00 p.m. GMT, Paris dropped 0.38%, evolving according to political announcements. Elsewhere in Europe, Milan fell by 0.25% and London was stable (-0.00%). In Zurich, the SMI gained 0.24%.
Frankfurt alone saw a clear increase (+1.24%), breaking a new session record. German stocks also benefit from good economic indicators in China, an essential market for companies in Europe's largest economy.
Investors are “waiting to know if the French government will be censored and overthrown in the National Assembly”, summarizes John Plassard, investment specialist at Mirabaud.
The National Assembly examined on Monday the PLFSS (bill on the financing of Social Security), resulting from a compromise between a committee of senators and deputies.
Without a majority, Prime Minister Michel Barnier activated article 49.3 of the Constitution, which allows the approval of a text without a vote.
The opposition party La France insoumise announced on Monday that it would submit a motion of censure in response to 49.3 initiated by the government.
This motion of censure, which should be voted on by the National Rally, would mean the end of Michel Barnier's government.
The Prime Minister has increased his concessions to the National Rally (RN). He “committed that there will be no delisting of medicines” in 2025, acceding to a new request from the National Rally, according to a press release from Michel Barnier sent to AFP on Monday.
Despite the concessions obtained, the far-right group RN announced that it will “vote for censorship” of the Barnier government (on the social network X).
In this context, interest rates on ten-year French government bonds were stable, at 2.92% around 3:00 p.m. GMT, compared to 2.89% the day before, after having climbed in the morning.
The gap with its German equivalent, a benchmark in Europe, was 0.87 points.
French political uncertainty caused the single European currency to decline against the dollar, which lost 0.86% to 1.0486 dollars per euro around 1:50 p.m. GMT.
On the other side of the Atlantic, Wall Street opened without any real impetus. Around 3:00 p.m. GMT, the Dow Jones fell 0.22%, the Nasdaq index gained 0.66% and the broader S&P 500 index 0.16%.
Stellantis loses its head, strike at Volkswagen ___
The Stellantis automobile group (-7.08% around 2:40 p.m. GMT) is unraveling in Paris, after announcing on Sunday the resignation “with immediate effect” of its boss Carlos Tavares, whose successor will be appointed in the first half of 2025. The Franco-Italian manufacturer -american indicated at the end of September that it had launched a succession process for its general director, whose mandate was to end at the beginning of 2026.
Delivery Hero plonge ___
The German group Delivery Hero (-11.59% around 2:40 p.m.) plunges in Frankfurt, after announcing that its Spanish home delivery platform Glovo will employ its couriers in Spain, who until then worked under the status of independent workers.
Oil advances ___
These signs of economic recovery in China are boosting the price of oil, the country being the leading importer of black gold.
Around 2:40 p.m. GMT, the price of a barrel of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) gained 1.36% to $68.93, and that of Brent from the North Sea advanced 1.17% to $72.68.
The Bitcoin price stood at $94.4971 –1.36%).
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