France in talks with S&P before rating update.

French Economy Minister in Talks with Standard and Poor’s Over Possible Downgrade

PARIS (Reuters) – French Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire is in “very close discussions” with credit ratings agency Standard and Poor’s, which put France on notice in January for a possible downgrade, Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne said on Sunday.

The agency, which is due to give an update on France on June 2, said a downgrade from its current “AA” rating could be triggered by a lack of reforms that it said France needed to implement to reduce the burden on spending.

According to Prime Minister Borne, Le Maire has provided detailed explanations to Standard and Poor’s on France’s efforts to control its public finances and implement reforms. France aims to cut its budget deficit to 2.7% of gross domestic product by 2027.

Fellow credit ratings agency Fitch recently downgraded France’s sovereign credit rating to “AA-“, citing potential political deadlock and social unrest as risks to President Emmanuel Macron’s reform agenda.

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