France

Lescure says France needs no bailout amid bond turmoil

French borrowing costs are still close to their highest levels in more than two decades. At the same time, European and international officials are publicly rejecting talk of a new eurozone debt crisis. Their message to Paris is that it…

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Draghi says bar is high for ECB to rescue France

Former European Central Bank President Mario Draghi said on Thursday, October 15, that the ECB is unlikely to step into markets any time soon to support France. He said high inflation limits how far the bank can go, and that…

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Lagarde plays down ECB help, tells France to fix debt

European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde said on Wednesday that France has to solve its debt problems at home by tightening fiscal policy. Her remarks pushed back on market speculation that the ECB could soon step in to support French…

Cyberattack heats fridges in hundreds of French stores

Hackers took remote control of refrigeration systems at hundreds of French supermarkets overnight from Sunday, Oct. 11, into Monday, Oct. 12. The attack heated fridges and freezers, forced stores to throw away fresh and frozen food and caused small fires…

French bond yields climb as ECB rescue debate grows

France's borrowing costs kept rising on Monday, October 12. Pressure is building on Paris to pass a credible 2027 budget, and the debate over whether the European Central Bank should step in is getting louder. The yield on France's 10-year…

Recovered Renoirs damaged, four men charged in theft

Two Renoir paintings stolen last month from the Renoir Museum in Cagnes-sur-Mer turned up behind a solid cinder-block wall in a house in the southern town of Clermont-l'Hérault. Marseille prosecutor Nicolas Bessone said on Monday that both works are damaged…

Fund managers warn French debt selloff threatens banks

France's government borrowing costs have climbed to their highest level in more than two decades. Fund managers now warn that Paris has little room left in its budget and that the pressure on French government debt is starting to hit…

Citi warns French fiscal risks could halt ECB hikes

Citi analysts say France's worsening public finances could lead the European Central Bank to stop raising interest rates after a December hike, or sooner if financial stress spreads to other heavily indebted euro zone countries. They also warn that the…

Bundesbank warns European debt crisis risks have risen

French government borrowing costs have climbed to their highest level in more than two decades, and some of Europe's senior policymakers and economists are now warning that a full sovereign debt crisis can't be ruled out. After weeks of heavy…

Eurogroup rules out rescue, tells France to pass budget

Eurozone finance ministers and the European Central Bank have told France to deal with its debt problems by passing a 2027 budget. In Luxembourg on Thursday, Oct. 8, the ministers made clear that no eurozone institution is ready to step…

French bond yields ease from 2002 highs as budget stalls

French government bond yields fell back from their highest levels in more than two decades on Friday, giving the euro some relief. Borrowing costs are still high, though, and a split parliament in Paris has left the 2027 budget stuck,…

French borrowing costs hit highest since 2002 amid protests

France's government bond selloff could drag on, analysts warn, as student protests demanding more spending collide with investors pushing Paris to cut it. Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu has said the government will present its response to the protests at the…

France now pays more to borrow than many of its companies

France now pays more to borrow than many of its own companies do. A selloff in French government debt has pushed the 10-year yield to almost 5%. The extra yield investors demand to hold French 10-year bonds instead of German…

French bond yields top Italy’s as debt crisis fears grow

France's borrowing costs have jumped to levels not seen since the 2008 financial crisis, and on Thursday, Oct. 8, The New York Times, The Economist and economist Paul Krugman all warned that Europe's second-largest economy may be heading toward a…

Euro zone presses France to pass budget as bond yields jump

Euro zone finance ministers and the European Central Bank are expected to tell France on Thursday, Oct. 8, to pass a 2027 budget to calm bond markets. French borrowing costs are near 25-year highs, and senior euro zone officials have…

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Police fire tear gas at Paris students after PM’s speech

Police fired tear gas at a barricaded high school in northeastern Paris on Thursday as France's student protest movement went into what organizers call "Act IV." The clashes came the morning after Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu gave a televised address…

French bond yields near 24-year high as selloff resumes

Investors sold French government bonds again on Thursday. The 10-year yield rose 6 basis points to 4.931%, close to the 24-year high of 4.994% it reached last Friday, Reuters reported. The gap between French and German 10-year yields widened 4…

European bank stocks slide as French debt worries mount

European bank shares fell sharply on Wednesday, October 7, as another rise in government bond yields hit lenders. Investors were also worried about France's finances. The STOXX Europe Banks index dropped about 3.5%. Societe Generale Société Générale S.A., Deutsche Bank,…

Euro hits 16-month low vs pound on French bond fears

France's borrowing costs stayed near 24-year highs on Wednesday, Oct. 7. Concern over the country's public finances ahead of the 2027 presidential election kept pressure on the euro, which fell to a 16-month low against sterling. France's 10-year yield briefly…

Bank of France chief rejects ECB help as spreads widen

The spread between French and German government bonds widened again on Wednesday, Oct. 7. France's budget troubles and protests at home have kept investors selling its debt, while some candidates to succeed President Emmanuel Macron are now openly asking the…

IMF chief warns France to fix finances as yields surge

The head of the International Monetary Fund told France on Wednesday to "get your house in order." French borrowing costs have climbed to levels not seen since the euro zone debt crisis, and Paris is struggling to push spending cuts…

French bond spread widens again as investors flee to Bunds

France has become the main focus of a global government bond selloff. Its borrowing costs have climbed to their highest level since 2002, and investors increasingly treat its debt less like that of a core eurozone country and more like…

French bond selloff spreads to Italy, Belgium and Greece

France's borrowing costs have climbed to levels not seen since the eurozone debt crisis. Investors now want the biggest premium in more than a decade to hold French government debt instead of German bonds. The 10-year French yield is close…

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France test-fires new nuclear missile as Macron watches

France fired its newest submarine-launched ballistic missile, the M51.3, for the first time on Tuesday, Oct. 6, the defence ministry said. The unarmed missile was launched from the nuclear submarine Le Vigilant off Brittany and came down "in the North…

Euro steadies near 17-month low on French debt worries

The euro held just above a 17-month low against the dollar on Tuesday as euro zone bond markets steadied, a day after the currency fell hard on worries about France's public finances and political gridlock. In the early Asian session…

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France to shut up to 500 high schools amid student protests

France will fully or partly close as many as 500 high schools on Monday, Oct. 5. Education Minister Édouard Geffray said Sunday that classes will be "totally or partly suspended" at 400 to 500 lycées where security conditions "have not…

France’s audit chief says delays drove bond spread surge

The gap between French and German borrowing costs has tripled in about a month. Amelie de Montchalin, president of France's public audit court, the Cour des Comptes, said the spread widened from 50 basis points to 150 basis points in…

Hedge funds unwinding bets fuel French bond rout

This week's slide in French government bonds was made worse by hedge funds pulling out of crowded positions in a hurry. The forced selling produced swings that European markets had trouble absorbing, and a senior Fidelity International bond manager said…

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France shuts 400 schools as student protests turn violent

About 400 French high schools stayed shut on Friday, roughly one in 10 nationwide, after student protests over teacher shortages, overcrowded classrooms and crumbling buildings turned into clashes with police, arson attacks on schools and hundreds of arrests. Education Minister…

French bond turmoil prompts traders to cut ECB hike bets

The European Central Bank's bond-buying tools exist to protect price stability, not to target particular sovereign spreads, Bundesbank President Joachim Nagel said on Thursday, Oct. 1. His remarks lowered expectations of an ECB rescue for France as its borrowing costs…