International credit rating agency Standard & Poor's (S&P) announced on the 17th (local time) that it lowered France's sovereign credit rating by one notch to A+ from AA-. The outlook was maintained at stable.
In a press release distributed the same day, S&P said, "Although the French government submitted the 2026 budget bill to Parliament this week, uncertainty over public finances remains high ahead of the 2027 presidential election," explaining the background of the rating adjustment.
S&P cited the French government's recent decision to postpone pension reform, a core initiative of President Emmanuel Macron, as a key example of uncertainty. It also pointed to a series of no-confidence votes in the French Parliament recently hindering efforts to restore fiscal soundness as a reason for the adjustment.
France has had its credit rating downgraded in succession by three international rating agencies over the past month. Earlier last month, Fitch lowered France's rating to A+ from AA-, and the same month DBRS Morningstar also downgraded France's rating to AA from AA(high).