How will the French election affect the value of the Euro? (Tom Holian)

We are now just a fortnight before the French elections are due to start with April 23rd the day of the first round of voting.

Currently there are a total of potentially four candidates in the electoral race but only two will make it through the first round of voting.

The final vote will take place on 7th May and the likelihood is that National Front leader Marine Le Pen will get through to the second round alongside Emmanuel Macron.

However, although Le Pen has gained more votes recently the chances of her winning are very slim and the strong indication is that Emmanuel Macron will win in the second and final round.

The problem is that with the Brexit vote last year as well as Donald Trump winning the US election there appears to be a voice for social change recently so any chances of this happening in France could cause big problems for the Euro.

Indeed, Marine Le Pen has already spoken out in favour of replacing the Euro with the French Franc as well as offering a referendum in what has been termed the ‘Frexit’.

In the short term UK inflation is due out on Tuesday which is likely to cause a lot of movement for Sterling vs the Euro.

If you have a currency transfer to make involving selling Euros or are in the process of selling a property in Europe it may be worth moving prior to the elections.

If you don’t have your funds available another option to consider is a forward contract which allows you to fix an exchange rate for a future date for a small deposit.

If you would like further information or a free quote then contact me directly and I look forward to hearing from you.

Tom Holian [email protected]