AI debt and French bonds face a stress test — why it may not be over

A protester waving a French national flag walks past a fire during clashes prior to the start of a demonstration to protest against the "high cost of living", in Marseille, southern France, on Oct. 17, 2026.Thibaud Moritz | AFP | Getty ImagesFrom AI companies financing data center projects to France's heavily indebted government, credit markets are flashing warnings as investors grow warier of borrowing risks.Five-year credit default swap spreads have widened for CoreWeave, Oracle and SoftBank Group, as well as France and Italy, according to CNBC's analysis of FactSet data. AI-related bonds have been selling off as markets raise the cost of capital amid concerns of a financing crunch. Neocloud demand is "off the charts," Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang told CNBC on Thursday, but he warned of a "scarcity of capital." "The demand of the capital is much greater than the availability of the capital," he said, adding, "that's going to get solved."Countries like France face a similar crunch. Pressure is building in bond markets as investors demand more compensation to finance public debt. Recent mass protests and rioting in France have heightened the market's concerns."Markets may no longer want...