Emanuel Macron wins big in French parliamentary elections

Emanuel Macron’s En Marche party has secured a sweeping majority in France’s second round of parliamentary elections winning a total of 350 seats out of the total 577. Marine Le Penn, the main presidential opponent to Macron secured just 9 seats. With national turnout at just 43% this was a record low for voting numbers, none the less the majority Macron now has allows the President to begin implementing his big French reform agenda. Finally, Philip Hammond, UK Chancellor of the Exchequer reaffirmed that the UK will leave the single market as well as the customs union when it withdraws from the EU. This quashes the hopes of some UK business leaders that the Chancellor might champion an attempt to soften the type of Brexit we negotiate for in Brussels.