The 10-year yield on French government debt briefly reached 3.02 per cent in early trading on Thursday, crossing above the 3.01 per cent yield demanded by lenders to Greece, before switching back.

Borrowing costs for France have hit a 12-year high relative to Germany, and were more than those of Greece for the first time ever

French borrowing costs effectively matched those of Greece on Thursday for the first time, as Michel Barnier's government teetered on the brink of collapse, underlining a dramatic shift in how lenders view the creditworthiness of euro zone members.