Paris Loses Crown To London As Europe's Biggest Stock Market

France's political upheaval has led Paris to lose its spot as Europe's biggest equity market to London, less than two years after winning that title from the UK.

President Emmanuel Macron's shock announcement of a snap election sparked a rout that wiped off about $258 billion from the market capitalisation of French firms last week. Shares of banks Societe Generale SA, BNP Paribas SA and Credit Agricole SA- all big holders of government debt-lost more than 10 per cent each.

Stocks in the country are now collectively worth about $3.13 trillion, narrowly losing out to the UK at $3.18 trillion, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The CAC 40 Index has erased all its gains for 2024 asharp reversal from scaling record highs a month ago.

"We are in a period where there are no certainties for three-tofour weeks and the market could unfortunately become more unstable," said Alberto Tocchio, a portfolio manager at Kairos Partners.