The shares were offered to institutional investors at a price of €19.90 and when the market opened were value at €23 each. By 11:44am, the prices had dropped to €22.60.

President Emmanuel Macron’s government is planning to sell government shareholdings in specific businesses to raise funds for innovation projects and boost the country’s economy.

FDJ’s flotation is one of the biggest to take place in Europe this year and comes after several other public offerings were cancelled due to Brexit concerns and the ongoing US – China trade war.

When including a €380m payment the FDJ needs to make, to retain its monopoly rights over sports betting and lottery, the privatisation is expected to generate €2bn for the state budget.