French stocks were sharply higher on Tuesday despite Prime Minister Michel Barnier bracing for a no-confidence vote this week over a budget dispute.
After Barnier invoked a rarely used constitutional mechanism to push through the contentious 2025 budget without parliamentary approval, Marine Le Pens far-right National Rally and the leftist New Popular Front both have filed no-confidence motions, setting the stage for a vote as early as Wednesday that could see Barniers ouster.
The benchmark CAC 40 was up 72 points, or 1 percent, at 7,309 after finishing marginally higher the previous day.
Worldline SA shares were up 2.6 percent, extending gains from the previous session after the payments group attracted takeover interest from private equity firms.