J ust how far can French politicians push the bond market? Efforts to slash the country’s American-style deficit, which sits at 5.4% of GDP , might soon bring down another government. On September 8th François Bayrou, the prime minister, will face a confidence vote over his proposed spending cuts. He seems almost certain to lose. Should that lead to another minority government, the chances are low that it could secure enough votes to pass a budget that would meaningfully lower borrowing. Meanwhile, the yield on ten-year French government bonds has climbed to 3.6%, above Greece’s ten-year yield and on par with that of Italy, the continent’s usual fiscal flounderer (see chart).

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