France’s debt ratio rose in 2025 even as its deficit narrowed, the European Union’s statistical office, Eurostat, said Wednesday, while FXStreet linked an early EUR/USD quote to French unrest and budget worries.
FXStreet reported the pair near $1.1225 at 2:18 a.m. EDT (06:18 GMT) on Wednesday, Oct. 21, below $1.1250. The outlet cited protests in France and concern about government finances as factors behind the euro’s softness. That is FXStreet’s market interpretation; Eurostat’s data do not establish the cause of the morning quote. FXStreet put EUR/USD near $1.1230 on Monday, Oct. 19, in a reading recounted in EconoTimes’ earlier coverage of French unrest and the euro.
For Oct. 21, the European Central Bank (ECB) listed one euro at $1.1234 in its daily reference table, above FXStreet’s earlier quote. This was a separate benchmark reading, not a market quote from the same time, and it does not establish a full-day rise or decline. The ECB says its reference rates are for information and discourages their use in transactions.
Eurostat reported that France’s government debt reached 115.7% of GDP at the end of 2025, up from 112.6% a year earlier. The deficit narrowed to 5.1% of GDP from 5.8% in 2024. Eurostat lists April 21, 2027, as the date of its next deficit-and-debt release.
FXStreet’s AI-assisted chart review gave the 14-day relative strength index (RSI), a momentum measure, a reading of 39.6. The outlet said EUR/USD was below its 100-day simple moving average at 1.1460; the 20-day Bollinger midpoint was 1.1252.
At a briefing Monday, Oct. 19, Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu said curfews would apply selectively and businesses affected by damage and looting would receive public assistance. The French government estimated at least 3,000 businesses had been affected. It said those responsible for damage should pay, but did not give a total cost for the support.
The Associated Press reported that student unions and groups associated with the yellow vest movement had called for demonstrations Thursday, Oct. 22, and Saturday, Oct. 24. The movement’s fuel-price protests shook France in 2018 and 2019.
