France's debt crisis continues to worsen

Yields on sovereign debt are rising across the world. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note, the U.S. benchmark, is up about 1% or 100 basis points since July. That sharp rise has caused market commentators to warn of a sovereign debt crisis. Some experts on global markets place the blame on U.S. fiscal policy, but the true canary in the global debt complex is France, and in truth, all the countries that make up the European Monetary Union.

Yet again, France faces the challenge of cobbling together a budget. Politics is deeply fractured in France. Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu leads a minority government and must compromise with opposition parties to pass budget legislation. The tensions are reverberating into the debt markets.