Agence France Trésor

The average cost of the cellar moves slowly because only some bottles get replaced each year.

How slowly? According to France's debt agency, the Agence France-Tresor, the average maturity of the state's tradable debt was 8 years and 163 days at the end of July 2026.

Roughly speaking, each year a slice of the old cheap debt matures and gets refinanced at the new expensive rate.

More than €210bn of medium and long-term state bonds fall due in 2027 alone.