European stock markets drop following violent weekend unrest in France

European stock markets opened lower on Monday after a weekend of violent protests and looting across France. Euronews, Yahoo Finance Singapore, and investingLive all reported that the civil unrest in France weighed down European stock indexes at the start of the trading week. Business owners in France are tallying damage and accusing the government of failing to protect them. [1][3][4]

The pan-European Stoxx 600 index fell by more than 0.6% at the start of Monday's session, according to Euronews. France's CAC 40 index traded 0.5% lower, while the Euro Stoxx 50 dipped by 0.1%. Shares in the retailer Carrefour fell by more than 0.5% after the company stated that looters targeted 50 of its stores. [1]

The market decline follows a major security crisis in France. As FTMQ News reported earlier, French President Emmanuel Macron recently refused the resignation of Interior Minister Laurent Nunez and admitted security failures occurred. At least 2,400 people were arrested following demonstrations that drew up to 500,000 participants across the country. [8]

Shopkeepers and chief executives across France continue to count their financial losses following the violent weekend. Euronews reported that business leaders are accusing the authorities of leaving their properties exposed during the violence. [1]