France’s Bond Rout Sends Global Investors Flocking Into Treasuries

European markets have been rattled by a sharp sell‑off in French government bonds, raising fresh questions about fiscal sustainability in one of the euro area’s core economies. On Thursday, October 22, the yield on France’s 10‑year OAT climbed to about 5.07%, its highest level in roughly 24 years, signaling that investors now demand a much higher premium to hold the country’s debt. Rising yields mean falling bond prices, and in this case they reflect growing concern over France’s debt trajectory and political capacity to rein it in. The move triggered a broader "risk‑off" reaction: global equities slipped, while investors rotated into perceived safe havens such as U.S. Treasuries and high‑grade bonds from other developed markets. For international asset allocators, the episode underscores how quickly country‑specific fiscal worries can spill over into global portfolios via rates, currency moves, and credit spreads. Japanese investors with sizable euro‑denominated holdings may need to reassess hedging and duration risk if volatility in European sovereign debt persists.