The interest rate on France's benchmark 10-year government bond rose to 5% on Wednesday morning, its highest level in 24 years, before slipping back slightly, The Guardian reports.
Investors have been selling French debt as the government struggles to pass next year's budget and the country recovers from weeks of violent unrest. Protests that started in September over school conditions widened into demonstrations about living costs, with looting and an arson attack on Limoges town hall.
No party has held a parliamentary majority since President Emmanuel Macron's snap election in 2024, stalling his pension and spending plans. France ran a deficit of 5.1% of GDP last year, with debt at 115.6% of GDP. Some lenders, including Japanese fund managers, have pulled back, and a currency analyst at Ebury said French political risk was also weighing on the euro.
Source: The Guardian
