France's deteriorating public finances and political deadlock are making it a "poster child" for sovereign debt problems, as its 10-year government bond yields hit their highest level since 2008, above 4.13% last week, and remained near 4.1% on Friday. The country's deficit reached 5.1% of GDP last year, well above the EU's 3% limit, while its debt-to-GDP ratio surpassed 115%. The IMF projects France's gross government debt to exceed 120% of GDP by 2027.