French President Francois Hollande's honeymoon with bondinvestors may be ending as economic reality bites.

Hollande, who returned from a 15-day summer break last week,faces an economy that hasn't grown in three quarters, risingjoblessness, a ballooning trade deficit and the task of coming upwith a plan in the next few weeks to plug a budget hole of morethan 30 billion euros ($37 billion) for next year.

The challenges ahead may undermine the rally in French bondsthat has allowed the country to sell bills at negative yields forthe first time. During Hollande's first 100 days in office, thepremium demanded to hold French 10-year debt rather than comparableGerman securities fell to the lowest in more than a year. Thattrend may be reversing.