From S&P Global Ratings late on Friday (December 2).
- France's rating was affirmed at AA, the third-highest for S&P
- credit outlook was downgraded to negative from stable, S&P citing the slowing economy and also the weight on public finances that'll hit from the government’s measures to cushion households and businesses from higher energy inflation (the agency raised its budget deficit estimate to 5.4% of GDP from 4% previously)
The agency had this to say, and as you can imagine this is not limited to France:
- “The rise in energy prices since the Russia-Ukraine war started may be a much longer lasting shock to European economies than the temporary fall in demand triggered by the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020”
- “France’s fiscal strategy partly focused on subsidizing energy costs for households and businesses may complicate medium-term fiscal consolidation.”
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Further:
Moody’s affirmed its rating at Aa2 for France (its third-highest level)
- stable outlook
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Unrelated but fun; France will meet England in the quarter-finals of the soccer world cup. France is the defending champ.
