IMF wary of France’s white right

International Monetary Fund members on Saturday dropped a pledge to fight protectionism and turned their attention to another looming threat to global economic integration: the fi rst round of France’s presidential election.

Concerns that far-right leader Marine Le Pen and far-left rival Jean-Luc Mélenchon, both critics of the European Union, could top the field in yesterday’s vote added to nervousness over US trade policy at the IMF and World Bank spring meetings.

“There was a clear recognition in the room that we have probably moved from high financial and economic risks to more geopolitical risks,” said IMF managing director Christine Lagarde.

Lagarde has warned that a Le Pen presidency could lead to political and economic upheaval, adding that a policy shift from “growth momentum to more sharing and inclusive growth” was needed.

A communiqué from the IMF’s steering committee on Saturday dropped an anti-protectionism pledge, adopting language from the Group of 20 nations that the Trump administration sought last month in Germany.

The IMF has warned that protectionist policies could choke off