France's debt to hit a 1978 high, and it now borrows dearer than Greece

France's finance ministry says public debt will reach 119.3% of GDP in 2026, the highest since 1978, driven by a deficit still far above the EU's 3% ceiling. The strain now shows up in what France pays to borrow. Investors demand more to lend to Paris than to Athens, near 4.50% for France against roughly 4.28% for Greece, even though Greece owes far more relative to its economy. Markets are pricing the direction of the deficit, not just the size of the pile.