"France continues structural reforms despite Fitch rating downgrade due to pension reform tensions"

2023-04-29 08:42:23

Fitch lowered the financial rating of France on Friday evening, in particular because of the strong social tensions around the pension reform.

Article written by

Published on 29/04/2023 10:42

Update on 29/04/2023 11:17

Reading time : 1 min.

Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire on April 29, 2023 in Stockholm (Sweden), during a meeting with his counterparts from the European Union. (CAISA RASMUSSEN / TT NEWS AGENCY / AFP) — Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire on April 29, 2023 in Stockholm (Sweden), during a meeting with his counterparts from the European Union. (CAISA RASMUSSEN/TT NEWS AGENCY/AFP)

The Minister of Finance, Bruno Le Maire, assured AFP on Saturday April 29 that Paris would continue to implement reforms, the day after the lowering of France’s financial rating by Fitch. The agency justified the downgrading of the French rating by one notch, to “AA-” against “AA” previously, by the strong social tensions around the pension reform, described as“political stalemate”.

Bruno Le Maire notably cited the reform of unemployment insurance and that of pensions. “I believe that the facts invalidate the assessment of the Fitch agency. We are able to pass structural reforms for the country”he said from Stockholm (Sweden), where he is taking part in a meeting of European Union finance ministers.

“We have before us a whole series of reforms that will accelerate the transformation of the French economic model”, Bruno Le Maire argued on Saturday. He mentioned in this regard the “green industries bill which will be presented in a few days and which will make it possible to reindustrialise France, open new industrial sites and create new jobs”. “Do not doubt our total determination to restore the public finances of the nation (…) to accelerate the deleveraging of the country, to reduce the deficits and to accelerate the reduction of public expenditure”added the minister.