France’s Appetite for ‘Magic Money’ Has Turned Into a Debt Bomb

After years of overspending, the country has emerged as one of Europe’s weakest links. Investors are bracing for things to get worse.France is on the precipice of a dangerous financial spiral.The global surge in interest rates has exposed the country, once considered an oasis of relative stability in Europe’s financial markets, as one of the continent’s weakest links. France now pays more to borrow than former crisis hot spots like Greece and Italy. Its government is running a budget deficit surpassed only by the United States among its peers. Last week, a slow-burning selloff in France’s government bond market took...