The hastily assembled Popular Front (NFP) - spearheaded by left-wingers including former Presidential candidate Jean-Luc Melenchon - is pledging to increase public spending by £125 billion if they successfully form a government.

They have also proposed a 90 percent tax on incomes over £340,000 a year - but Mr Le Maire suggests such a move could cost more than £250 billion with France already saddled with a budget defunct of 5.5 percent.

The Finance Minister explained: "The most immediate risk is a financial crisis and France's economic decline.

Speaking on the political situation, UK-based banking expert Bob Lyddon has told Express.co.uk the result signals an end to Emmanuel Macron's policy of "controlling debt and public spending", warning the inevitable "deadlock" is** no better than a victory for Marine Le Pen's far-right National Rally.**

https://www.msn.com/en-gb/money/other/france-on-the-brink-of-financial-meltdown-as-rich-to-flee-country-over-90-percent-tax/ar-BB1pERoO?ocid=msedgntp&pc=U531&cvid=e2fa92fbe58549cdab0850ab028e3368&ei=14