Rating agency downgrades France

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“Financials are weaker than their peers,” Fitch said on Friday, downgrading France one notch from AA to AA-. French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire told AFP that France will accelerate structural reforms.

A political stalemate and sometimes violent social movements pose risks to President Emmanuel Macron’s reform plans, rating agency Fitch said. It warned that “low growth prospects and weakening competitiveness” could lead to another downgrade.

Despite mass resistance, Macron pushed for pension reform, which included raising the retirement age from 62 to 64. The president points out that changes are necessary for the pension system to remain viable.

Finance Minister Le Maire said Fitch’s “pessimistic” assessment underestimated the results of the reforms. He reiterated the government’s “perfect determination” to reduce the public deficit and debt.

“I think the facts go against Fitch’s classification. We can and will continue to implement structural reforms for the country,” Le Maire told AFP news agency on the sidelines of the EU finance ministers meeting in Stockholm.

“There are a number of reforms ahead of us that will accelerate the transformation of the French economic model,” Le Maire said, referring to a bill for “green industries” that will be submitted in a few days. (SDA)

Source :Blick