Demand halves at crucial French bond auction France sold €4.02bn of 10-year debt at average yields of 3.29pc, up from 3.18pc at a similar auction last month. Demand outstripped supply by a ratio of 1.64 to one, compared with 3.046 to one at a similar auction in December. The country also sold bonds maturing in 2023, 2035 and 2041 at similar rates as they achieved in December. Demand was stronger at these auctions, with the country raising a total of €7.96bn of its €8bn target. Nick Stamenkovic, Bond strategist at Ria Capital Markets, described the auction as "satisfactory but not particularly impressive," while Richard McGuire, senior fixed income strategist at Rabobank, said: "Today's sales should be seen as a successful battle rather than in any way determining the outcome of the war." France currently has the highest long-term borrowing costs of the six eurozone AAA-rated countries. Yields on benchmark 10-year bonds stood at 3.298pc on Thursday morning, compared with 3.219pc for Austria, 2.268pc for the Netherlands, and 1.896pc for Germany. A separate report by France's national statistics office showed French consumer confidence last month remained at its weakest since December 2008. The INSEE said the overall consumer confidence came in at 80 in December, unchanged from November, and at its lowest since the depths of the global financial crisis in December 2008. A reading of 100 indicates the long-term average. Nicolas Sarkozy and Angela Merkel will meet on January 9 in Berlin to flesh out a plan agreed at a December summit by all EU members except Britain to forge closer fiscal integration with a new treaty.