French Fright

While French far-right presidential candidate Marine Le Pen looks very unlikely to win the French presidency, the rising popularity of far-left candidate Jean-Luc Melenchon is trouble. In the past month, he’s risen from fifth to third in polling for the first round of voting on 4/23. The top two vote-getters have a run-off 5/7. In hypothetical head-to-head matchups, Le Pen loses badly against all contenders including Melenchon. Markets are concerned.