France sold fresh long-term government debt on Thursday at a lower yield than a month ago, but borrowing costs remain far above last year's levels and the premium investors demand over Germany is the widest since the eurozone debt crisis. The 10-year OAT auction came in at 4.74% on 5 November, according to FXStreet, down from the 4.93% average yield on the equivalent bond at the 1 October sale.

The sale cleared without a blowout, yet the underlying strain has not eased. Analysis published on 5 November by the OFCE, the French economic research centre at Sciences Po, put the French 10-year yield at 4.94% on 3 November, or 1.63 percentage points above Germany's equivalent bond. The OFCE described that gap as a spread not seen since the eurozone sovereign debt crisis, driven by political uncertainty over France's budget.

The cost is already feeding through to the public finances. The OFCE calculated that if the market conditions seen on 3 November persisted through the end of 2027, the interest burden on French government debt would rise by about 7 billion euros. Agence France Tresor, the debt agency, reported an average weighted yield of 3.64% on OATs issued in 2026 through 31 October, against 3.14% on medium- and long-term state debt issued in 2025.

The government has estimated that interest on general government debt will climb from 79.2 billion euros in 2026 to 91.2 billion euros in 2027. The November bonds settle on Monday 9 November, and the next OAT auction, covering medium-term and index-linked lines, is scheduled for 19 November. A smooth auction calms trading for a day, but it does not fix the budget arithmetic behind the spread.