The Fitch rating agency today maintained France’s sovereign debt note at A+, but lowered its outlook from stable to negative, pointing to a “deterioration” of the country’s budgetary position and loan rates.
© Reuters
31/10/2026
by
Lusa
A rating agency Fitch today kept France’s sovereign debt note at A+, but lowered the outlook from stable to negative, pointing to a “deterioration” of the country’s budgetary position and loan rates.
“ A lower growth, a new budgetary deterioration and higher interest increased the difficulty of achieving sustained fiscal consolidation needed to reduce France’s debt degradation path,” wrote the agency in a press release, specifying the maintenance of the A+ note (higher average debt).
The cost of the French loan has skyrocketed in recent weeks due to concerns about the sustainability of its debt and the political and social divisions that divide the country.
“ This assessment confirms the absolute need to adopt by the end of the year a responsible budget, which aims to restore public accounts by reducing our deficit to 5%”, the ministry reacted in a statement that quotes the Minister of Economics Roland Lescure, indicating that “the government is determined to continue on a path of fiscal consolidation.”.
On Thursday, Roland Lescure had also admitted that “the French economy is stalled”, after the disclosure of GDP figures for the third quarter, with a decrease of 0.1%, after a stagnation in the second quarter and already a shrinkage in the first quarter.
Fitch Ratings' previous assessment had taken place in late August. At the time, the agency kept its note and perspective, justifying with a French economy “resilient”.
But since then, there has been a “deterioration of debt dynamics,” notes Fitch Ratings.
“ Income from French treasury bonds has increased significantly since our last revision, in the broader context of a market ‘repreciation’, but much more than most peers, indicating a greater sensitivity to variations in market confidence,” the agency explains.
In the debt market, the ten-year French loan interest rate closed at 4.97% on Friday, against 4.91% the day before.
Last week, it had exceeded the symbolic milestone of 5%. “Persistent political fragmentation and a difficult social context increase the complexity of the implementation of sustainable fiscal consolidation,” says Fitch Ratings.
However, “the ranking of France remains supported by the size, wealth and diversification of its economy, the soundness of its institutions, its membership in the euro area and the resilience of its banking sector,” added the classification agency.