Government bond values in France, Spain and Belgium have declined as fiscal deficit concerns and large-scale protests heighten political risk. France’s 10-year government bond yield exceeded 5% on October 21 for the first time in 24 years before falling to 4.78% on November 4, still 1.35 percentage points above its level a year earlier. French government debt has traded below some corporate bonds, including a seven-year L’Oréal issue with a 4% yield versus 4.37% for French government bonds of the same maturity. Spain’s 10-year yield reached 4.21% on October 2, its highest since December 2013, and stood at 4.05% on October 22, 0.71 percentage points above the German benchmark, the widest gap this year. Belgium’s government bond yield rose 1.09 percentage points over the past year to 4.28% amid protests over austerity policies and the prime minister’s announced resignation. Parliamentary elections in Spain this month, French presidential and parliamentary elections beginning in April next year, and possible early elections in Belgium could increase pressure on debt markets if populist parties gain ground and fiscal reforms lose momentum. Kang Young-sook of the Korea Center for International Finance said election-related political risks could amplify economic and fiscal risks. Separately, U.S. Treasury yields fell after Democrats won control of both chambers of Congress in the midterm elections, as markets saw a potential check on the Trump administration’s fiscal expansion policies.