If much of that is borrowed at the higher 3.5% interest rate prevailing today, that would deprive the French government of vital money to fund public services - which is not great news just days after France announced an emergency five-year 65bn euro package of tax rises and spending cuts to reduce its public-sector deficit.

BBC: France squeezed by markets

Since the launch of the euro, moreover, Italy's debt managers have managed to extend the average term of its borrowing to almost seven years, locking in then-prevailing interest rates and ensuring that less of the outstanding debt is subject to abrupt rate increases.

ECONOMIST: Fretful markets fear the worst

In contravention of a public, competitive auction, Crusader conspired to rig the tax lien bidding by allocating certain liens to members of the conspiracy, thus ensuring that the prevailing bidder took the lien with an artificially higher interest rate than would likely have been derived from open competitive bidding.

FORBES: Feds Nab Corporate Bid Rigger In Tax Lien Auctions