French instability may benefit far left and far right

Significance President Emmanuel Macron’s Ensemble finished second, ahead of the far-right National Rally (RN), which was prevented from finishing first by second-round cooperation between the NFP and Macron. The hung parliament leaves France facing an unprecedented period of political instability. Impacts Political and policy uncertainty will further damage investor confidence in the French economy. The fallout from the election results has increased the prospect that Macron will call early presidential elections, which may favour RN. A coalition between Macron and the left could vacate more space on the right for RN to expand its support.