European stocks extend slide as French protests dent risk appetite

European shares extended losses on Tuesday as investors weighed the ‌impact of political instability in France, which has dampened risk appetite across regional markets.

The pan-European STOXX 600 index was down 0.27% at 637.84 points ‌by 0709 GMT, after slipping 0.8% in the previous session. France's ‌benchmark CAC 40 index edged 0.2% lower. Late on Monday, French authorities set curfews in parts of several cities including Paris, Lille and Nice a weekend ⁠of riots ​and looting stemming ⁠from nationwide anti-government protests.

The protests have intensified pressure on the euro zone's second-largest economy, ⁠which is grappling with soft economic growth and ballooning government debt. The ​unrest also underscores the challenges the government faces in reducing its large ⁠deficit. Elsewhere, investors assessed a raft of corporate earnings reports.

French cloud operator OVHcloud jumped ⁠8.5% ​after reporting its first positive levered free cash flow since its 2021 listing, as its revenue grew 7.2% to €1.15 billion ($1.29 billion) ⁠in the financial year through August. Shares of Barco dropped 12.9% after ⁠the visualisation technology ⁠company forecast full-year sales to come in slightly below last year's levels, with an EBITDA margin of about ‌11%.