Fears of a French catastrophe may be overblown

The Netherlands, France and Germany all go to the polls this year – in that order – but the middle election most preoccupies those in Brussels. What, Europe’s bureaucrats fret, will happen if France picks Marine Le Pen, the leader of the right wing National Front, as its next president? “The decline in popularity of [centrist candidate Francois] Fillon has increased the risks of a Le Pen victory,” said Steve Brice, chief investment strategist at Standard Chartered Private Bank in …