Euro zone bond yields were little changed on Monday after climbing the previous week, as investors looked ahead to an expected interest rate cut from the European Central Bank on Thursday.

Germany's 10-year bond yield, the benchmark for the euro zone, was last flat at 2.269%,

France's 10-year yield was also steady, in line with the rest of the market even after ratings agency Fitch revised France's outlook to "negative" from "stable" on Friday, citing increases in fiscal policy and political risks.

The new French government delivered a 2025 budget last week with plans for 60 billion euros ($65.68 billion) worth of spending cuts and tax hikes on the wealthy and big companies to tackle a spiralling fiscal deficit.

Fitch said that political fragmentation and a minority government complicated France's ability to get its public finances on a sounder footing.

"The fact that (French bonds) already trade at a level consistent with a far lower rating meant that we expected the market reaction to a negative outcome to be limited," Rabobank analysts said in a note.

French bond yields rose sharply in June relative to German yields ahead of parliamentary elections, which ended in an unexpected victory for the left and a hung parliament.

U.S. bond markets were closed on Monday and the economic data calendar was sparse, leaving investors looking towards the ECB meeting on Thursday, where the central bank is expected to cut rates by 25 basis points to 3.25%.

Investors will be looking out for any hints from the ECB that confirm their bets that rates will fall further over the next year.

"ECB President Christine Lagarde will probably not say anything at the press conference in Slovenia to correct market expectations for another 25 bp move on 12 December," said Holger Schmieding, chief economist at Berenberg.

Italy's 10-year yield was 1 basis point lower at 3.55%, and the gap between Italian and German yields stood at 128 bps.

Germany's two-year bond yield, which is more sensitive to ECB rate expectations, was down 1 basis point at 2.25%.

(Reporting by Harry Robertson; Editing by Jan Harvey and Tomasz Janowski)