Paris (France) (AFP) – The Paris Stock Exchange is moving cautiously on Friday, at the end of a week dominated by the surge in interest rates on French debt, against a backdrop of growing investor fears about the political and budgetary situation in France.

Published on: 02/10/2026 - 10:06

At 9:40 a.m. (Paris time) shortly after the opening, the CAC 40 gained 0.35%, an increase of 27.16 points, to 7,862.47 points. The day before, the flagship Parisian index had lost 1.62%, to 7,835.31 points. Over the whole week, it lost more than 2.60%.

“The environment remains dominated by the rise in bond risk premia” and “budgetary and political concerns in France continue to weigh on debt,” according to John Plassard, head of investment strategy at Cité Gestion Private Bank.

The day before, the French ten-year interest rate reached 4.96% during the session, its highest level since 2002, and closed at 4.91%.

Friday morning, around 9:40 a.m., it remained stable compared to the day before, while the majority of its European equivalents benefited from a relaxation, due to a slight drop in oil prices.

Highly scrutinized on the markets, the gap - the "spread" - with the ten-year German benchmark therefore widened even further, reaching 1.44 percentage points, compared to 1.40 the day before at the close, the highest since 2012.

The French government presented its 2027 budget proposal on Thursday, with the ambition of "straightening" public finances through a series of saving measures, particularly on pensions, attracting the wrath of the opposition.

However, the markets are increasingly doubting the country's ability to adopt a text, while the political situation is blocked and France has one of the highest deficits and debt in relation to GDP in Europe.

“These tensions come at the worst possible time, as the euro zone grapples with an energy crisis, rising inflation and prospects of more restrictive policy from the European Central Bank (ECB),” according to Ipek Ozkardeskaya of Swissquote Bank.

Investors will be particularly watching the publication of inflation figures in the euro zone for the month of September, at 11:00 a.m.

Another point of attention, across the Atlantic: the American employment report for the month of September, expected at 2:30 p.m., crucial for anticipating the future monetary policy of the American Federal Reserve (Fed).

Kering steps back after JPMorgan note

The French luxury giant Kering fell 2.00% to 212.80 euros after a note from JPMorgan analysts estimating that the recovery of demand in China, a crucial market for the company, would not be as rapid as expected.

© 2026 AFP

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