[French government bonds experienced a historic sell-off this week, and the market is paying attention to whether Moody's will downgrade the country's rating] October 23rd, the French bond market experienced historic turmoil this week. A closely watched risk gauge is approaching its biggest rise on record as political unrest threatens to further fuel concerns about the country's public finances. The gap between French and German 10-year bond yields is currently about 1.7 percentage points, the highest since late 2011, when the euro zone debt crisis was at its worst. Investors are now awaiting a routine update on France's sovereign rating from Moody's later on Friday. Moody's currently gives France an Aa3 rating, one notch higher than S&P and Fitch, with a negative outlook. The market expects that Moody's may downgrade France's rating. If it comes true, France will lose its last AA rating from a major rating agency, which will also become another warning sign that the country's debt situation continues to deteriorate.