LONDON (AFX) - The euro was lower in early London trade, weighed down by French political concerns after far-right candidate Jean-Marie Le Pen knocked out Prime Minister Lionel Jospin in the first round of voting to qualify for the second round of voting in the French presidential election, dealers said. Incumbent Jacques Chirac is now the clear front runner in the presidential race, but there is still much uncertainty over the outcome of the French general election in June, William Rugg at Standard & Poor's said. A stalemate over German wage claims between employers and employees is adding to the negative euro sentiment, dealers said. "The stand-off over German wage claims is weighing on the euro, on top of the French election debacle," Rugg said. A strike at IG Metall has now become "probable", Rugg said. "Neither side is showing any sign of giving way," he said. Meanwhile sterling was lower, broadly tracking euro-dollar. The newsflow from the euro zone is likely to make it difficult for the UK government to persuade a sceptical public to vote for EMU, Rugg said. The yen was rangebound following more laissez-faire comments from Finance Minister Masajuro Shiokawa overnight. Shiokawa said: "The forex level should be determined by the market but the Japanese economic fundamentals are unchanged and will not change for the time being. I think this (range) is good." "With the Moody's decision looming no-one want to buy yen," Rugg said, noting that a downgrade would add to the negative sentiment stemming from the general malaise.