French stocks slide as Paris government faces risk of collapse

European stock markets opened sharply lower on Tuesday, pulled down by French equities as traders monitored the potential for a no confidence vote in the government next month.

France’s CAC 40 index plummeted more than 2% in early deals after the country’s three main opposition parties

It follows months of pressure by Trump on the central bank to lower interest rates, including repeated criticism of and threats to fire Fed Chair Jerome Powell.

Markets rallied late last week after Powell gave a speech which spurred investors to price in a September rate cut by the Fed.

In Europe, shares of German sportswear giant Puma opened 2% lower following a 16% jump on Monday. The gains came after Bloomberg reported that its majority shareholder, the billionaire Pinault family, was working with advisors with a view to a potential sale of the firm. Puma declined to comment when contacted by CNBC.

It’s a relatively quiet week on the data and earnings front, with a French consumer confidence reading out Tuesday before inflation figures from France, Germany, Italy and other European countries on Friday. Stateside, tech industry bellweather Nvidia reports Wednesday.