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Political turmoil in France has led to London once again becoming Europe's largest stock market, overtaking Paris.
President Emmanuel Macron's surprise announcement of early elections sparked a wave of unrest, leading to the loss of about $258 billion in market capitalization of French companies last week.
The largest French banks such as Societe Generale, BNP Paribas and Credit Agricole, which are significant holders of government debt, have lost more than 10% of their value. As a result, the total share price of French companies now stands at about $3.13 trillion, slightly behind the British with $3.18 trillion.
The CAC 40 index, which reached record highs a month ago, has now returned to the levels of the beginning of the year. At the same time, the FTSE 100 index in the UK reached record highs due to the growth of shares of export-oriented companies such as Shell and Unilever. Over the past three months, Paris has lagged significantly behind the Euro Stoxx 50 index, while shares of companies such as Rolls-Royce Holdings have contributed to London's growth.
Globally, the UK is now the sixth largest stock market.
