Moody's has decided to maintain France's credit rating unchanged, despite the country facing civil unrest for a week and rising political risks.
The agency has maintained France's credit rating at Aa3. Moody's still considers this rating to be "high," but at the same time, it retains a negative outlook for France.
Moody's stated in the report: "The negative outlook reflects that the risk of the fragmented political landscape in France continuing to undermine the operation of the country's legislative body is on the rise."
Moody's pointed out that if France's system is able to reduce the deficit, the rating outlook could return to stable.
Investors have been waiting for Moody's rating decision, as France, the second-largest economy in the eurozone, is simultaneously dealing with protests and a sharp rise in government bond yields.
In its report on Friday, Moody's stated: "This political instability, which is also reflected in the current social tensions, may weaken the French government's ability to address key policy challenges, such as high fiscal deficits, rising debt burdens, and continuously increasing borrowing costs, leading to a deterioration of sovereign credit indicators faster than we currently anticipate."
This week, the yield on French 10-year government bonds exceeded 5% for the first time since 2002. The spread between French and German government bonds also rose to a 15-year high.
Currently, France's deficit accounts for approximately 5.5% of GDP, which is significantly higher than the EU member state limit of 3%. By 2030, the country will have over one trillion dollars in debt that is due to be repaid. A month ago, the French Ministry of Finance warned that France's debt as a percentage of GDP is expected to rise to 121.7% by 2027.
At the same time, France has also been hit by protest activities. Last weekend, over 500,000 people took to the streets to express their dissatisfaction with the decline in public services and the high cost of living.











