As for the investor sell-off in France, pressures eased on Monday after Marine Le Pen – leader of the National Rally party – said she would be prepared to work with Mr Macron if she succeeded at the polls.
Mohit Kumar, chief Europe economist at Jefferies, said: “We would expect her comments to moderate more towards the centre if she wins power and her party forms the next government.”
Her comments led to the Cac 40 rising by 0.7pc in afternoon trading, while the FTSE 100 was down 0.1pc.
The euro also rebounded slightly against the pound, rising by 0.2pc to 84.5p. It came after it fell to its lowest level since September 2022 last week.
Meanwhile, yields on 10-year French government debt also steadied at about 3.19pc, although it remains at the highest premium to German debt since 2017.
However, Alberto Tocchio, portfolio manager at Kairos Partners, warned: “We are in a period where there are no certainties for three to four weeks and the market could unfortunately become more unstable.”