France’s 10-year OAT yield traded around 4.8%, hovering close to one week-lows and down nearly 5bps on the week, tracking a global easing in borrowing costs as expectations for monetary policy tightening moderated following remarks by Fed Chair Warsh at the IMF summit. In Europe, comments from ECB President Lagarde reinforced the case for a cautious, wait-and-see approach. Despite the weekly decline, French borrowing costs remain near their highest levels in more than two decades, as record public debt and political hurdles complicate efforts to consolidate public finances. The government aims to reduce the budget deficit to 5% of GDP by 2027, but parliamentary support for substantial spending cuts remains uncertain ahead of next year’s presidential election. ECB President Lagarde played down speculation about central bank intervention in France’s widening budget crisis, stressing that “the primary and first solution lies at home in France, and it has to do with fiscal policies”.