An illustrative photo taken on October 14, 2025, shows various screens and the logo of the ratings agency S&P Global. LIONEL BONAVENTURE/AFP
More than the deterioration of France’s public finances, ratings agency S&P (formerly Standard and Poor’s) penalized the country’s political chaos. On Friday, October 17, the agency announced it was lowering France’s rating from AA− to A+, moving from the fourth to the fifth-highest grade. While this decision had been widely anticipated, the timing came as a surprise: S&P had initially planned to issue its verdict on November 28.
The political calendar forced its hand, the agency explained: “The reason for the deviation [from the schedule] is the recent series of no confidence votes in the French parliament, impeding progress on consolidating France’s public finances.” According to the agency, the open conflict among lawmakers, with the presidential election looming, means there is little hope of deficit reduction. “In our view, uncertainty on public finances remains elevated ahead of the 2027 presidential elections. One example of this is the new government’s decision to suspend France’s landmark pension reform.” S&P thus drew a direct link between this political victory for the Socialists and its accelerated timetable to downgrade France’s rating.
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