Le Pen plan raises franc questions over France's euro debt pile

Marine Le Pen, French far-right National Front (FN) party president, member of European Parliament and candidate for French 2017 presidential election, speaks during a New Year wishes ceremony to the media in Paris, France, January 4, 2017. REUTERS/Charles Platiau/File Photo

LONDON (Reuters) - Should France ditch the single currency under a president Le Pen, redenominating nearly 2 trillion euros of government bonds in "new francs" could be legally straightforward, but hundreds of billions of corporate debt would be left in limbo.

The crux of the issue is that the sovereign debt is subject to French laws that could be changed by the government to prevent a currency switch triggering a default, while a large chunk of the 1 trillion euros ($1.1 trillion) of bonds issued by major French companies are governed by foreign legislation.