French bond demand soars as Le Maire warns of looming crisis

Demand for French government bonds among investors reached an extraordinarily high on Friday, a phenomenon unseen for over four years. France's Minister of Finance and Economy, Bruno Le Maire, warned on Friday about a potential financial crisis in the country. "We are paying more for our debt today than Portugal," he stated.

Bruno Le Maire cautioned again about a financial crisis in the country with the second-largest economy in the EU following President Emmanuel Macron's decision to dissolve parliament and call for early elections.

When asked on Franceinfo radio whether the country's current political situation could lead to a financial crisis, he replied, "Yes."

Investor demand for French government bonds reached significant heights on Friday, unseen for over four years. Data from the London Stock Exchange Group indicates that the yield on French bonds is on track to record the highest weekly jump since the eurozone crisis.

We are paying more for our debt today than Portugal," Le Maire emphasized, adding that this is happening due to advancing political agendas influencing whether we will still be able to finance this debt or not.

The Eurosceptic National Rally (RN), formerly Marine Le Pen's National Front, currently leading in popularity polls, is calling for lowering the retirement age and promoting a protectionist economic policy under the slogan "France First."

The rating agency S&P Global, which recently downgraded France's rating, claims that the policies promoted by this party could impact France's credit rating.

The recently formed leftist alliance also announced on Friday that it wants to lower the retirement age and introduce a new tax for the wealthy.