France is paying an ever-higher risk premium on its debt as investors brace for a third straight year of drama over its annual budget, which threatens to topple yet another leader. The yield on the country’s 10-year government bonds— known as OATs — popped above 4.5% on Friday for the first time since 2008, and has since held above that threshold. It was last seen trading with a yield of 4.6696% on Thursday. Read more:

FRANCE DEBT FEARS DRAW GREECE COMPARISONS Jupiter’s Ariel Bezalel warns France’s rising debt and political gridlock are increasingly reminiscent of Greece’s pre-crisis trajectory. French government debt has reached 117.5% of GDP and is projected to keep climbing, while borrowing costs relative to Germany have surged. France remains far from a Greek-style crisis, but investors fear persistent deficits and political fragmentation could make stabilizing its debt increasingly difficult.