France’s borrowing costs top Greece’s after 2,300 riot arrests

France’s borrowing costs moved above Greece’s after riots involving 2,300 arrests, looting at more than 2,000 shops and 1,000 police injuries, The Guardian reported in a 21 October live article.

The market reaction matters because France enters the next presidential election in six months with debt at 119% of GDP, its highest level since 1946, the 21 October article said.

The Guardian said the weekend unrest included a town hall fire and reported that allegations of police brutality had emerged. It linked the violence to investor unease and a French government with little space for fiscal relief.

“France’s national debt, at 119% of GDP, is at its highest level since 1946. Its budget deficit, at 5.1%, is also among the highest in the EU,” Guardian Europe correspondent Jon Henley wrote, according to the live article.

The political stakes are also rising. The Guardian cited columnist Paul Taylor as saying the violence had increased the likelihood of a “law-and-order backlash” that could help Marine Le Pen, while adding that a worsening financial picture could favour a candidate viewed as stronger on fiscal policy.

Those assessments are commentary, not voting data. The supplied article did not provide polling figures, official casualty statements or details on any formal investigation into the police-brutality allegations.

Guardian Europe columnists Rokhaya Diallo and Alexander Hurst are due to take reader questions at 1500 BST, 1600 CEST, on Friday, 23 October 2026.

Comments are scheduled to open at 0900 BST that day.

Source: live article, The Guardian, 21 October 2026