France’s growing debt woes: How bond markets set countries’ borrowing costs

Yields on French bonds have reached their highest levels in nearly 25 years as investors increasingly see lending to the government as risky. The 10-year bond yield has risen by more than 130 basis points since June, topping 4.9 percent. France’s national debt is nearing 120 percent of GDP, while the country faces a widening gap between spending and revenue and deep political divisions over how to address it. Hundreds of thousands of protesters oppose proposed budget cuts and demand more cost-of-living relief and funding for public services.