In Context
French Elections Result Is Least Worst Outcome for Business
Legislative gridlock means that Macron’s pro-investment reforms will likely stay in place.
This article is for subscribers only.
President Emmanuel Macron’s bet on regaining control of France with snap elections backfired spectacularly, but the resulting political gridlock means investors and business have escaped with the least worse outcome.
Coordinated maneuvers by disparate political forces aimed at blocking the ascension of Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally delivered a hung parliament where no group has anything approaching a majority. With Macron unable to call fresh elections for at least a year, France is saddled with a legislature riven with ideological and personal divisions so great that it’s unlikely it will enact any meaningful changes to current policy.