French Debt Sell-Off Widens Spread Over Germany as Protests Rattle Markets

French sovereign debt came under renewed selling pressure on Monday, with the premium investors demand to hold French 10-year government bonds over German Bunds widening sharply as violent street protests in France and Italy unnerved investors. The spread between French and German 10-year borrowing costs — a closely watched gauge of eurozone political risk — widened after violence broke out during the demonstrations, according to The Guardian. The debt sell-off rippled across asset classes, triggering a broader stock and bond sell-off and sending the euro lower. The move underscores how quickly investors are repricing political risk into eurozone sovereign debt, with France's fiscal trajectory and social unrest now central to the region's stability calculus. For investors, the widening French-German spread signals that markets are demanding a higher premium for exposure to French government debt, a dynamic that can raise refinancing costs and weigh on French banks and corporates. The euro's decline adds a currency headwind for holders of euro-denominated assets. What to watch next: whether the spread continues to widen, whether protests escalate or subside, and whether French authorities or European institutions respond with measures to calm markets. Any sign of contagion to other eurozone peripherals would be closely monitored.