ECB, Le Pen call for calm on turmoil-hit French markets

Hans van LeeuwenEurope correspondent

Updated Jun 18, 2024 – 8.29am, first published at 4.38am

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London | French markets stepped back from a week of turmoil on Monday (Tuesday AEST), as top European Central Bank officials joined resurgent right-wing leader Marine Le Pen in trying to project an aura of calm.

ECB boss Christine Lagarde suggested the central bank was alert but not alarmed about the shake-up in French bond yields and equity prices. And her chief economist, Philip Lane, played down the prospect that France could suffer a Liz Truss-style financial meltdown.

Hans van Leeuwen covers British and European politics, economics and business from London. He has worked as a reporter, editor and policy adviser in Sydney, Canberra, Hanoi and London.