At the lowest level ever recorded downgraded last night (12.9.2025) the credit rating house Fitchthe credit rating of Franceremoving from the second largest eurozone economy the AA- evaluation, as the country is facing a political crisis and expanding debt.
This move, which brings Fitch’s evaluation to A+, puts pressure on French Prime Minister Sebasten Lecorn, just days after taking up his duties as he is trying to form a government and draw up a budget for 2026 that can pass through a deeply divided parliament.
The rating, the lowest ever recorded for a large credit rating company, has steady prospects for future moves, Fitch said, attributing its downgrade to the lack of a “clear horizon for debt stabilization in the coming years”.
The degradation had already been invoiced in the markets, analysts said. However, the time of movement is embarrassed to France and highlights investors’ growing concerns about its ability to limit its fiscal deficit, which is today the highest in the eurozone.
French President Emmanuel Macron has commissioned Lecorn, a conservative believer, to form a government after the removal of veteran Central François Bairou from MPs in a vote of confidence for his plans for $ 52.
Lekorny became Macron’s fifth prime minister in less than two years and is facing an almost impossible mission to pass a limited budget from parliament – a test that led to the removal of the last two prime ministers of France.
“This instability weakens the ability of the political system to achieve meaningful fiscal consolidation,” Fitch said in a statement.
Finance Minister Eric Lobard said he had taken into account Fitch’s move and that Lekorny was proceeding with the consultations with legislators to approve the budget and the restoration of public finances.
Fitch’s degradation to A+ scores has greater consequences than recent downgrades, as it could foretell that other counterparts will follow its example, leading to a forced sale of French bonds from investors binding from assessment limits.
French debt has been under pressure since Bayrou has called for a vote of confidence last month, leading the cost of borrowing near Italy, which has the second highest eurozone debt and has a much lower credit rating.
With bond markets closely monitoring, Lecorn must find ways to reduce the fiscal deficit of next year from estimated 5.4% of GDP, although his plan will probably be less ambitious than Bairo’s goal for 4.6%. Its budget plan must be submitted to Parliament by October 7, although it could postpone it in case of need by October 13.
To win sufficient parliamentary support, Lekorny is expected to make concessions to the Socialists, including increasing taxes for the rich and relaxing the hard -winning reform of Macron’s pension system for 2023. However, if he goes a long way, he goes too far.
France’s downgrading to A+ is not likely to put pressure on its large banks, as BNP Paribas and Credit Agricole already have A+ ratings and Societe Generale scores a score of a degree lower than Fitch.