麻豆约拍

As France prepares for the first round of its presidential election on Sunday, Theo Leggett looks at the economic factors driving the candidates' fortunes, and the financial consequences of the outcome.

On a visit to rural Provence, Theo meets the struggling farmers who feel that Marine Le Pen of the far right Front National is the only candidate who cares about their plight.

Dominique Moisi of think tank the Institut Montaigne in Paris gives the run-down of what is a particularly colourful field dominated by outsiders. And James Bevan of CCLA Investment Management explains how the markets are likely to react, particularly in what for many investors would be the worst case scenario of a far rights versus far left run-off election.

(Picture: A woman walks past electoral posters of French presidential election candidates; Credit: Gabriel Bouys/AFP/Getty Images)