Reactions to the French election

Demonstrators on National Assembly's victory: "France is a racist country"

Thousands of people poured into the Place de la République in central Paris immediately after the far-right National Assembly became the largest party according to the polls. This is reported by Libération, which describes the mood as shocked.

- We see it tonight, France is a racist country, says protester Maude to the newspaper.

In several places, people have taken to the streets in protest. In Lyon, some of the demonstrators have thrown shots and clashed with the police, according to several media.

According to the polling station polls, the National Assembly received 34 percent in today's election, the left coalition 28 percent and Macron's group just over 20. The second and decisive round is on July 7.
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The euro rises after the election: "Short positions covered"

The euro strengthened slightly after polls showed that Marine Le Pen's far-right National Rally party looks set to become the largest party in the new French elections. The currency began trading at 21:00 in Sydney and was up 0.3 percent against the dollar an hour later. The krone lost about 1 öre to 11.36 for one euro.

Bloomberg's currency strategist Michael Wilson assesses that the rise of the euro in Sidney is probably about short positions taken as a hedge before the election being covered as extreme scenarios seem to be absent.

According to IG Markets chief analyst in Paris Alexandre Baradez, the development suggests that the market is taking the election result in stride.

- If there had been any sense of panic, we would have already noticed it on the currency markets, he says.

Bloomberg also states that a Le Pen victory in the first round is expected and that most of it is already priced in by the markets.