France 'next' in Euro debt firing line

France will be the next eurozone country in the firing line for bond investors, the chief of the London Stock Exchange believes.

As the attention turns from Ireland to Portugal and Spain, LSE boss Xavier Rolet says Nicolas Sarkozy's France could come under similar pressure for its high sovereign debt levels. The yield on the benchmark 10-year French government bond is 3.26%, 15bp under the equivalent gilt. "France's time is up next," Rolet tells the Independent. "It won't be long before bond investors turn to France after they have finished with Portugal and Spain. "The country's deficit is much, much higher than anyone realises. My view is that the markets are not prepared to finance it any more unless t...