What’s up with Liz Truss and the French?
A few years ago, he plunged Anglo-French relations into a deep freeze by pointing out that the jury was out on whether France was Britain’s friend or foe. French officials then watched with glee as the chancellor’s September 2022 mini-budget plunged British capital markets into chaos.
Now the French monetary status quo is wondering if it is in the midst of a “Liz Truss moment”, with stocks falling and bond yields rising following President Macron’s surprise resolution to curb the electorate’s love of extreme right with large-scale parliamentary measures. elections.
France will at least be saved from a currency crisis – it is assumed – as its fate is tied to the euro, but if this becomes a genuine emergency for the eurozone’s second-largest economy, then all bets are off.
The fall in French stocks has at least generated some good news for the London Stock Exchange, which has regained its prestige as the most valuable stock exchange in Europe after two years in second position. However, this is not the time for complacency.
It didn’t get the attention it deserved last week, but the strong allusion by Greg Jackson, head of Octopus Energy and one of Britain’s most important business leaders, that the company would not be indexed in London, was a bad sign. omen.
Under Jackson’s leadership, Octopus has become Britain’s most admired energy giant. This is precisely the type of British company that chooses London as its first option when deciding where its shares will be listed.
The fact that Jackson appears more likely to follow through with Octopus’ IPO across the pond is a damning indictment of the current situation.
So let’s take advantage of this moment in which London is once again among the most sensible in the ranking. But let’s not say either that it was the crisis on the other side of the Channel and not our own genius that put London back in its place. For now