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France plans record bond sale as debt fears grow

Economists voiced growing alarm over France’s fiscal path, pointing to surging debt and high bond yields ahead of next year’s divisive elections. Paris — already grappling with debt equivalent to 119% of GDP — said it would sell a record amount of bonds next year, prompting the spread between French government bonds and their German equivalents to widen, reflecting what investors see as a rising risk premium. The giant investment manager Vanguard warned that France was “degrading” its creditworthiness, while Commerzbank said in a note that “political uncertainty … is increasingly crippling the economy.” [...]