French Markets Surge After Euro Withstands Attack From the Right<br />The manic swings of the markets — first spooked by the possibility of a Le Pen presidency, then ecstatic over the apparent unraveling of<br />that possibility — attest to the gnawing fear that the euro could still succumb to whatever blow history delivers next.<br />Her strength in polls in recent weeks prompted investors to demand greater returns on French government debt, a sign<br />that the odds of default — however minute — were multiplying.<br />A Le Pen presidency could spook them into unloading some of it, increasing borrowing costs for the French government and the business world.<br />Le Pen had moderated her positions in recent weeks as her election has gained plausibility,<br />her hostility for the European Union and the euro are well known.<br />The French Parliament and Constitution would severely constrain a President Le Pen.<br />Le Pen appeared to see her electoral fortunes expand in recent months, the markets construed yet another direct threat to the euro’s sustainability.
