Citigroup analyst Jamie Searle says the ECB would prefer not to discuss France at its upcoming policy meeting but may find the topic unavoidable. The ECB may remind markets it has conditional backstop tools but is unlikely to encourage intervention in French markets. French bond volatility is expected to dominate Lagarde’s Thursday press conference after weeks of heavy selling as markets doubt the French government can narrow the budget deficit to 5% of GDP by 2027, particularly following recent

Citigroup analyst Jamie Searle says the ECB would prefer not to discuss France at its upcoming policy meeting but may find the topic unavoidable. The ECB may remind markets it has conditional backstop tools but is unlikely to encourage intervention in French markets. French bond volatility is expected to dominate Lagarde’s Thursday press conference after weeks of heavy selling as markets doubt the French government can narrow the budget deficit to 5% of GDP by 2027, particularly following recent violent protests.