France has more to offer investors than striking workers. Its banks have produced shareholder returns to rival those of JPMorgan Chase and Citigroup, and there is no reason why the trend can’t continue. U.S. bank stocks have generated average total returns of 17.1% over the past year, more than three times the 5.5% delivered by European peers. Two big French lenders, however, are outliers. Crédit Agricole shareholders have made a total return of 32% over one year, while BNP Paribas investors have gained 27.8%—in the range...

Source: Wall Street Journal January 20, 2020 12:56 UTC