France sells EUR 13.497bln vs exp. EUR 11.5-13.5bln 1.25% 2036, 3.70% 2036, 0.50% 2040 and 4.10% 2046 OAT

• 1.25% 2036: b/c 3.10x (prev. 3.74x), average yield 4.19% (prev. 3.86%)
• 3.70% 2036: b/c 2.28x (prev. 3.33x), average yield 4.23% (prev. 3.90%)
• 0.50% 2040: b/c 2.92x (prev. 2.37x), average yield 4.51% (prev. 3.95%)
• 4.10% 2046: b/c 3.07x (prev. 2.36x), average yield 4.74% (prev. 4.27%)

A French multi-line OAT auction at the top of the indicated range with a mixed demand picture: cover slipped on both 2036 lines while the 2040 and 2046 maturities drew stronger interest than their previous outings, all clearing at yields above the prior comparable sales. The pattern here is familiar from episodes where long-end supply is absorbed but at a concession: higher clearing yields alongside still-healthy cover on the longest maturities typically signals duration demand exists at a price, rather than a failed auction dynamic. The case distinction that matters in French supply is domestic and real-money take-up of the long end versus dealer retention in the belly, since OAT auctions do not publish the same bidder-category detail as some peers and the tell instead arrives in the post-auction behaviour of the OAT-Bund spread. French long-end supply has historically been the channel through which fiscal and political risk premia express themselves, so the spread reaction to size at the top of range tends to matter more than the auction statistics themselves. Worth noting is whether the spread stabilises once the supply is digested or continues to drift, which in comparable episodes has separated routine concession-building from genuine sponsorship concerns. Follow-ons are the next scheduled French and core-European supply and any syndicated taps of the new or reopened lines.