The Paris Bourse is set to open slightly lower on Friday, with caution limiting the number of sharp positions to be taken a few hours ahead of the publication of monthly employment figures in the United States.

At around 8:15 a.m., the 'future' contract on the CAC 40 index - December maturity - fell by 14.5 points to 7327 points, heralding a slight consolidation following the rebound initiated over the last five sessions.

Despite the adoption of the motion of censure which brought down the Barnier government on Wednesday evening, the Paris market had ended yesterday's trading session with a gain of 0.4% at 7330 points.

With a rise of 1.3%, the CAC is paradoxically poised to end a series of six consecutive weeks of decline, while the overthrow of the government has opened up a new period of political uncertainty in France.

Many analysts point out that the Paris index has weathered the turbulence rather well so far.

'The fall of its minority government and the rejection of its ambitious austerity budget do not necessarily mean an immediate and major financial crisis', temper the teams at Banque Richelieu.

'We do not expect the French mess to trigger a crisis of confidence in the euro similar to that of 2010-2012'

The France-Germany spread is stabilizing at 0.78 basis points, showing that for the time being investors are not alarmed.

In his address broadcast last night, President Macron pledged to appoint a new prime minister 'within the next few days', while ruling out resigning by the end of his term.

Following the French tumult, investors will be refocusing on the economic indicators scheduled for the day.

The monthly report from the US Department of Labor is due at 2.30pm, and economists are expecting a rebound in job creation to 200,000 in November, after the 12,000 created in October as a result of the hurricanes that hit the US.

Overly vigorous figures could in fact be unwelcome by investors, reinforcing the possibility that the Fed will curb its support measures for the economy.

Traders now place the probability of a rate cut this month at over 70%, compared with 66% a week ago, according to the FedWatch barometer of stock market operator CME Group.

Investors will also be watching for the afternoon release of the preliminary version of the University of Michigan's consumer index, which will measure the effect of Trump's election on US household morale.

On the currency markets, the euro is completely unaffected by the Barnier government's censure, and is even strengthening against the dollar, returning to the 1.0575 zone.

Oil prices, for their part, remain supported by signs of a lasting reduction in OPEC supply, even if Brent crude is consolidating slightly by 0.2% below $72 this morning, while US light crude (West Texas Intermediate, WTI) is down 0.1% at $68.2.

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