With French Poised for Extreme Vote, Companies Plot Their Plan B
- Raising cash, boosting currency hedges among steps being taken
- Le Pen, Melenchon raise concern among corporate executives
Pricing the Rise of Melenchon in the French Election
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French companies are stealthily preparing for the worst amid the growing prospect that Marine Le Pen or Jean-Luc Melenchon could win the presidency on platforms of raising trade barriers and potentially exiting the euro currency bloc.
One Paris-based industrial company would consider moving its headquarters to London in the case of a Melenchon win, said its chief executive officer, who asked not to be identified. The CEO of another company, one of the biggest in the benchmark CAC-40 Index, said managers are drawing up a Plan B should Le Pen win, though he wouldn’t give details. Aramis Auto, a Paris-based car broker, has made sure it can withstand a retreat by banks.