After a crushing defeat in the European Parliament election on Sunday, French President Emmanuel Macron called a snap legislative ballot in a desperate bid to stop the rise of his far-right rival, Marine Le Pen.
While Macron’s position as head of state won’t be directly affected by the upcoming vote, his ability to push through legislation, the power to choose a like-minded prime minister and the credibility of his political project will all be on the line in an election that Sunday’s results suggest he’ll likely lose.
The euro fell as much as 0.3% to $1.0765 in early Asia trading, its weakest in almost a month. The move pares an almost 2% rally since mid-April as traders tempered bets of European Central Bank rate cuts this year. French bond futures slipped, underperforming their German peers.