In the midst of a snap general election, we take the opportunity to look at the state of the country’s economy.

France has a huge debt burden and some business leaders are worried that the economy could worsen if Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally party get into power. The French stock market has been falling since the parliamentary election was announced - although it has recovered slightly after Sunday's result. Meanwhile the parties on the left have formed a new alliance, The New Popular Front, with radical policies like increasing tax on high earners and reducing the pension age.

Although we are fixated on the rise of the far right, the parties of the left formed a united block to fight RN and they have made gains in the first round of voting.

We hear from a solar panel manufacturer in Paris, plus a former UK Ambassador to Paris who knows President Emmanuel Macron. And economic experts in Brussels and Frankfurt discuss the EU perspective.

Presented and produced by Russell Padmore

(Image: Supporters of the far-right National Rally wave French flags at the party headquarters following voting during the first round of legislative elections on 30 June 2024)