Is high yield highly strung?

What was the main focus of chatter at BNP Paribas’s High Yield and Leveraged Finance Conference last week in London? The brochure said it was all about the state of the market, structuring trends, the outlook for private equity, and other such geeky delights. But away from the glitzy lights of the stage, there was something much more French occupying the minds of the conference delegates.