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Macron’s call for elections in France adds to fears of financial woes

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Investors made clear on Tuesday the depth of their concerns over President Emmanuel Macron’s gamble to call for new elections in France, driving up the nation’s borrowing costs, pushing down stock prices and prompting the Moody’s ratings agency to warn it may downgrade French sovereign debt as risks of political instability rise.

Mr. Macron’s dissolution of the lower house of Parliament on Sunday after his party was battered by Marine Le Pen’s far-right party in European Parliament elections has ignited concerns that the government could grind to a stalemate. The turmoil has focused attention on France’s fragile finances, and the prospect of legislative gridlock that could undermine the government’s ability to address it.

“This decision will not ease the economic challenges facing the country,” Philippe Ledent, senior economist at ING Bank, wrote in a note to clients. Public finances and the performance of the French economy will be “at the heart of the electoral campaign,” he added.

As the head of France’s conservative party on Tuesday called for an alliance with the far right to beat back Mr. Macron ahead of two rounds of national voting that will start on June 30, investors punished French stocks, sending the Paris Bourse down 1.33 percent, after a sharp fall on Monday.

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The yield on France’s 10-year government bonds rose sharply for a second day amid investor unease over France’s ability to manage its finances. Bond yields are indicative of the government’s borrowing costs, and elevated levels would make it harder to stimulate the economy and manage the country’s debt.

France is suddenly facing uncharted territory. The prospect that Ms. Le Pen’s party, the National Rally, could triumph in the hastily called legislative elections — which could weaken Mr. Macron’s grip on power and possibly force him to govern with a prime minister from his political opposition — risks piling economic havoc atop the political toll.

“Fiscal and domestic economic policies are set by the government, which needs a majority for its legislation in Parliament,” said Holger Schmieding, chief economist at Berenberg Bank in London. “For a fiscally challenged France, new parliamentary elections add a level of uncertainty.”

The turmoil comes with the French economy in a rough patch, as the wars in Ukraine and Gaza, economic slowdowns in Germany and China and record-high interest rates take a bigger-than-expected toll on growth. Mr. Macron’s government recently warned that growth would be weaker than expected this year, and his finance minister, Bruno Le Maire, was charged with finding more than 20 billion euros in savings quickly as the nation’s finances deteriorate.

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After the government spent lavishly during the pandemic to support the economy and shield consumers from high energy prices, French debt has climbed to 3 trillion euros, or 110.6 percent of gross domestic product. The government deficit for 2023 stands at €154 billion, accounting for 5.5 percent of gross domestic product, one of the worst performances in the eurozone.

France is now at risk of breaching European Union budget rules that restrict government borrowing and is likely to be sanctioned next week by the European Commission, the E.U. executive branch. On Tuesday, Mr. Le Maire warned that France could be thrown into a “debt crisis” if Ms. Le Pen’s party gained power.

Paris had been increasingly concerned about French debt being downgraded by international rating agencies, which increases borrowing costs. On May 31, Standard & Poor’s downgraded France’s debt rating, rattling the government, whose economic credibility has been one of its main political assets.

Then on Tuesday, Moody’s warned that Mr. Macron’s maneuver could deepen France’s financial woes by creating “a polarized political environment.” By dissolving the National Assembly, Mr. Macron had increased the risks that France will not be able to bring its budget back in line, raising the prospect of a further downgrade.

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“There is a high risk of greater political instability in the future,” the agency said, adding that Parliament could be thrown into political gridlock for at least a year because the winner of the upcoming elections was unlikely to have an absolute majority. That could mean that almost any legislation Mr. Macron puts forward would be blocked, including measures to cut government spending needed to avoid breaching the European Union’s fiscal rules.

The danger is that France’s high debt balloons even further, which could lead to a faster-than-expected rise in interest payments, Moody’s added.

Ms. Le Pen and her firebrand protégé, Jordan Bardella, have backed higher public spending to address issues that have driven waves of voters to the National Rally party, especially a loss of purchasing power brought by high inflation and energy costs, and demand for job creation in areas that have been devastated by industrial losses to globalization.

Mr. Macron has sought to play the role of a European leader during Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, but the National Rally has assiduously been courting voters, especially in rural areas.

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Ms. Le Pen’s party won by large margins this weekend in places that have lost jobs to deindustrialization. The National Rally has grabbed bigger audiences for its pledges to bolster purchasing power, create employment through “intelligent” protectionism and shield France from European policies that expanded globalization.

Mr. Macron has been trying to counter the rise of National Rally, which has seized on the economic slowdown, immigration issues and regulatory requirements imposed by the European Union to attract disenchanted voters.

Now in the middle of his second term, Mr. Macron has sought to show that he was moving France back to business, burnishing its image especially with foreign investors. He has overhauled France’s rigid labor code to make it easier for companies to hire and fire and is streamlining France’s generous unemployment system.

He is also overseeing an enormous subsidized industrialization program that has attracted hundreds of billions of euros in commitments from multinational companies. These include the creation of four big battery plants for electric cars in northern France and a beefed-up pharmaceutical industry with new investments from Pfizer and Novo Nordisk, which will expand production of its popular Ozempic and Wegovy weight-loss drugs.

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Last month, Mr. Macron hosted hundreds of global chief executives at the Palace of Versailles for an annual business conference that drew large new pledges, including a €4 billion investment by Microsoft for a new data center in eastern France.

Even so, France’s economic slowdown has been noticeable, particularly to voters who have swung to Ms. Le Pen’s party. Many feel inequality has widened, rather than narrowed, as Mr. Macron pledged, in the seven years since he took office.

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Tinubu To Hold Maiden Presidential Media Chat Tonight

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President Bola Tinubu will hold first presidential chat since assuming office on Monday night.

Accoding to a statement released by presidential spokesperson, Bayo Onanuga, the chat will be broadcast at 9 p.m. on the stations of Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) and Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN).

All television and radio stations are requested to hook up to the broadcast.

“The first Presidential Media Chat with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu will be broadcast at 9 p.m. on Monday, December 23, on the Nigerian Television Authority and Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria.

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“All television and radio stations are requested to hook up to the broadcast,” the statement.

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‘Putin waiting to meet me as soon as possible’ to end Ukraine war – Trump

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The US President-elect took to the stage AmFest in Phoenix to talk about his contact with the Russian leader.

He told the crowd: “President Putin has said he want to meet with me as soon as possible.”

Trump went on to brand the war “horrible” and stated it needed to end. It is not known whether or not this meeting will take place in person. His comments at the event in the US come as Putin met with another world leader.

Putin held talks in the Kremlin today (December 22) with Slovakia’s prime minister, Robert Fico, in a rare visit to Moscow by an EU leader since Russia’s all-out invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

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Fico arrived in Russia on a “working visit” and met with Putin one-on-one. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Russia’s RIA agency that the talks would focus on “the international situation” and Russian natural gas deliveries.

Visits and phone calls from European leaders to Putin have been rare since Moscow sent troops into Ukraine, although Hungary’s PM Viktor Orban visited Russia in July. Orban’s visit drew condemnation from Kyiv and European leaders.Fico’s views on Russia’s war on Ukraine differ sharply from most other European leaders. The Slovakian PM returned to power last year after his leftist party Smer (Direction) won parliamentary elections on a pro-Russia and anti-American platform. Since then, he has ended his country’s military aid for Ukraine, hit out at EU sanctions on Russia, and vowed to block Ukraine from joining NATO.

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JUST IN: Speed Darlington Granted Bail, Says Lawyer

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Stanley Alieke, the counsel for popular controversial rapper, Darlington Achakpo, aka Speed Darlington, said the singer has been granted bail after nearly a month in police custody.

Alieke disclosed this on his Instagram handle on Monday.

“Apki has been granted bail by the court,” he wrote without including much information.

The rapper was arrested on November 27 while performing at a show in Owerri, Imo State.

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His arrest was connected to an alleged abuse of Afrofusion star, Damini Ogulu popularly known as Burna Boy.

Darlington’s counsel, Deji Adeyanju also confirmed that Burna Boy was responsible for his arrest.

Darlington had taunted Burna Boy over his affiliation with the embattled United States rapper Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs who is facing multiple charges for sexual exploitation and human trafficking.

This prompted his first arrest. On his arrival, Speed Darlington swore never to back down on calling out the Grammy award winner because of his association with the embattled Diddy.

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Earlier, Darlington’s lawyer, Adeyanju said that the singer would be arraigned within 48 hours or be released on bail.

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“Our FREP application for Speed Darlington a.k.a has been granted by the court. He is to be arraigned within 48 hours or released. Issues around injustice may take time but justice will always prevail,” he wrote.

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