French Stocks Fall to 6-Month Low

The CAC 40 fell 0.9% to 7,824 on Monday, hitting its lowest level since March as concerns over France’s political and fiscal outlook intensified. Opposition parties remain reluctant to compromise with President Emmanuel Macron’s outgoing administration ahead of next year’s election, with far-right candidate Marine Le Pen and far-left rival Jean-Luc Mélenchon expected to advance to the second-round runoff. Meanwhile, the president and chief investment strategist at Yardeni Research Inc. said in an Oct. 4 note that France could be nearing a full-blown debt crisis. The French government recently unveiled a €54 billion ($61.2 billion) fiscal effort to rein in spending and bring the deficit down to 5% of GDP in 2027 from 5.4% this year. Financial stocks remained under pressure, particularly BNP Paribas (-1.6%), Crédit Agricole (-1.4%) and Société Générale (-2.5%). Other notable decliners included Schneider Electric (-7.1%), Hermès (-2.5%) and Danone (-1.2%).