France’s Bond Yield Reaches Highest This Year on Snap Election

(Bloomberg) -- French government bonds sold off sharply on Monday amid mounting concerns over the nation’s finances after President Emmanuel Macron called a snap election.

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The yield on 10-year bonds rose as much as 10 basis points to 3.19%, the highest since November, as investors worried about Macron’s ability to push through legislation if his parliamentary support is weakened. The gap between France and Germany’s benchmark bond yields widened to as much as 54 basis points, the highest since January.

Macron called the election in a desperate bid to stop the rise of his far-right rival, Marine Le Pen, after a crushing defeat in the European Parliament election on Sunday. The vote is sharpening the growing focus on the country’s fiscal challenges, which culminated with a credit downgrade by S&P Global Ratings last month.

France’s bonds, long considered one of the safest in the euro area, have been falling out of favor as the fiscal picture worsens, with the extra yield on 10-year bonds over German securities doubling from pre-Covid levels.

(Updates with additional context.)

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