# French-German Bond Yield Gap Touches 157 Basis Points as French Yield Tops 5% By Enna Lee Canonical URL: https://www.tokenpost.com/news/investing/37073 Published: 2026-10-21T21:53:54.000Z Updated: 2026-10-21T21:53:54.000Z Section: Investing > France’s 10-year yield had touched 5.002% as of 5:14 a.m. ET (09:14 UTC) on Oct. 21. The yield gap narrowed to about 150 basis points later in the day. The yield premium on French 10-year government bonds over comparable German debt reached about 157 basis points on Oct. 21 as France’s borrowing costs crossed a level unseen since 2002. France’s 10-year yield had touched 5.002% as of 5:14 a.m. ET (09:14 UTC), moving above 5% for the first time since July 2002. The yield was up about eight basis points on the day in a morning market observation. The French-German yield gap narrowed to about 150 basis points later on Oct. 21. A basis point is 0.01 percentage point. The gap measures the extra return investors demand to hold French government debt rather than comparable German bonds. French bonds had already faced [pressure as deficit concerns intensified](). Lawmakers are examining France’s 2027 budget bill, which was filed Oct. 1. The government forecasts public deficits of 5.4% of gross domestic product in 2026 and 5.0% in 2027. France’s public debt stood at €3,595.5 billion, or 119.0% of GDP, at the end of the second quarter of 2026. Higher yields increase the cost of issuing new debt and refinancing existing obligations. Moody’s has a rating review scheduled for Oct. 23. France’s current rating is Aa3 with a negative outlook. ## Links in this article - [pressure as deficit concerns intensified](https://www.tokenpost.com/news/investing/27890)