Once upon a time if folks wanted to pinpoint the most economically-vulnerable country in Europe – the one most likely to face a crisis – they would invariably point to Greece or to Italy.

They were the nations with the eye-waveringly high bond yields, signalling how reluctant financiers were to lend them money.

Today, however, all of that has changed. The country invariably highlighted as Europe’s problem child is France.

Indeed, look at the interest rates investors charge European nations and France faces even higher interest rates than Greece.

And these economic travails are central to understanding the political difficulties France is facing right now, with one prime minister after another resigning in the face of a parliamentary setback.

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It mostly comes back to the state of the public finances. France’s deficit is among the highest in the developed world right now.

Everyone spent enormous sums during the pandemic. But France has struggled, more than nearly everyone else, to bring its spending back down and, hence, to reduce its deficit. Successive budget plans have been announced and then shelved in the face of political resistance.

France’s government spends more, as a percentage of gross domestic product, than any other developed economy.

The government’s most recent budget plans called for what most people would see as relatively minor spending cuts – barely more than a couple of percentage points off spending, after which France would still be the third biggest spender in the world.

But even these cuts were too controversial for the French people, or rather their politicians.

Yet another prime minister looks likely to fall victim to an unsuccessful bill. Deja vu all over again, you might say.

A deeper issue is that the latest worsening in France’s public finances isn’t just a sign of political resistance, or indeed of a nation that can’t bear to take the unpalatable fiscal medicine others (for instance Greece or the UK) have long been ingesting.

For years, France could rely on a phenomenon many other developed economies couldn’t: strong productivity growth.

The country’s people might not work as many hours as everyone else, but they sure created a lot of economic output when they were at their desks.

However, in recent years, French productivity has disappointed. Indeed, output per hour growth in France has dropped well below other nations, which in turn means less tax revenue and, lo and behold, the deficit gets bigger and bigger.

All of which is why so many people, including Prime Minister Francois Bayrou himself, have warned that France is at risk of a market meltdown.

In a recent speech, he pointed to the example of Liz Truss and her 2022 mini-Budget. Beware the market, he said. You never know how close you are to a crisis.

Amanda Staveley, the former Newcastle United Football Club joint-owner, will on Monday be forced to clarify her interest in bidding for Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur following veteran chairman Daniel Levy’s unexpected departure last week.

Sky News has learnt that PCP International Finance, a vehicle controlled by Ms Staveley, is expected to issue a statement following discussions with the UK takeover watchdog saying that she does not intend to make a formal offer for Spurs.

People close to the situation said on Sunday that Ms Staveley had been in discussions with prospective backers of a bid for the club in recent weeks.

Spurs’ ownership is complicated by the fact that it is subject to the UK Takeover Code – governed by the Takeover Panel.

Under the provisions in the Code, PCP could yet return with a formal takeover bid for Spurs if invited to do so by the board of Enic, or if a rival bidder announces its intention to make a firms offer for last season’s Europa League winners.

City sources pointed to these caveats as being particularly relevant to Ms Staveley’s potential ongoing interest in Spurs.

Enic owns a stake of nearly 87% in the club, with the remaining shares owned by a group of minority investors.

Mr Levy reportedly owns a stake of almost 30% in Enic, while Joe Lewis, Enic’s majority-owner, transferred control of his stake in Spurs to his family trust in 2022.

A source close to the Lewis family said on Sunday evening: “The club is not for sale.”

His exit last week after nearly 25 years as Tottenham chairman was apparently driven by a desire to inject fresh momentum into the leadership of the club.

In a statement last week, it said: “Tottenham Hotspur has been transformed over the last quarter of a century.

“It has played in European competitions in the last 18 of 20 seasons, becoming one of the world’s most recognised football clubs, consistently investing in its academy, players and facilities, including a new, world-class stadium and state of the art training centre.”

Rothschild, the investment bank, had previously been engaged by Mr Levy to raise hundreds of millions of capital to invest in Spurs.

Those discussions are understood to have involved a range of parties in the past year.

Any takeover bid for Spurs, regardless of the identity of the bidder, would be likely to value at well in excess of £3.5bn for it to be deemed acceptable.

A spokesman for Ms Staveley declined to comment on Sunday evening.

Britain’s biggest high street lender is closing in on a deal to buy Curve, a provider of digital wallet technology that its new owner hopes will give it an edge in the race to build smarter online payments systems.

Sky News has learnt that Lloyds Banking Group could announce the acquisition of Curve for about £120m as soon as this week.

City sources said this weekend that the terms of a transaction had been agreed, although a formal announcement could yet slip to later in the month.

Lloyds has been in talks with Curve about a takeover for some time, with Sky News revealing that discussions were taking place in July.

The financial services giant, which owns the Halifax brand and operates the biggest bank branch network in the UK, believes Curve’s digital wallet platform will be a valuable asset amid growing regulatory pressure on Apple to open its payment services to rivals.

Curve was founded by Shachar Bialick, a former Israeli special forces soldier, in 2016, and was hailed as one of Britain’s most promising fintechs.

Three years later, Mr Bialick told an interviewer: “In 10 years’ time we are going to be IPOed [listed on the public equity markets]… and hopefully worth around $50bn to $60bn.”

The sale price may therefore be a disappointment to long-standing Curve shareholders, given that it raised £133m in its Series C funding round, which concluded in 2023.

That round included backing from Britannia, IDC Ventures, Cercano Management – the venture arm of Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen’s estate – and Outward VC.

Curve was also reported to have raised more than £40m last year, while reducing employee numbers and suspending its US expansion.

In total, the company has raised more than £200m in equity since it was founded.

Curve is being advised by KBW, part of the investment bank Stifel, on the discussions with Lloyds.

The company is chaired by the City grandee Lord Fink, who is also a shareholder in the company.

Curve has been positioned as a rival to Apple Pay in recent years, having initially launched as an app enabling consumers to combine their debit and credit cards in a single wallet.

Lloyds is said to have identified Curve as a strategically attractive bid target as it pushes deeper into payments infrastructure under chief executive Charlie Nunn.

In March, the Financial Conduct Authority and Payment Systems Regulator began working with the Competition and Markets Authority to examine the implications of the growth of digital wallets owned by Apple and Google.

Lloyds owns stakes in a number of fintechs, including the banking-as-a-service platform Thought Machine, but has set expanding its tech capabilities as a key strategic objective.

The group employs more than 70,000 people and operates more than 700 branches across Britain.

Curve is chaired by Lord Fink, the former Man Group chief executive who has become a prolific investor in British technology start-ups.

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When he was appointed to the role in January, he said: “Working alongside Curve as an investor, I have had a ringside seat to the company’s unassailable and well-earned rise.

“Beginning as a card which combines all your cards into one, to the all-encompassing digital wallet it has evolved into, Curve offers a transformative financial management experience to its users.

“I am proud to have been part of the journey so far, and welcome the chance to support the company through its next, very significant period of growth.”

IDC Ventures, one of the investors in Curve’s Series C funding round, said at the time of its last major fundraising: “Thanks to their unique technology… they have the capability to intercept the transaction and supercharge the customer experience, with its Double Dip Rewards, [and] eliminating nasty hidden fees.

“And they do it seamlessly, without any need for the customer to change the cards they pay with.”

News of the talks between Lloyds and Curve comes days before Rachel Reeves, the chancellor, is expected to outline plans to bolster Britain’s fintech sector by endorsing a concierge service to match start-ups with investors.

Lloyds declined to comment, while Curve has been contacted for comment.