French Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire stated that after the international credit rating agency Standard and Poor's (S&P) downgraded the country's "AA" credit rating to "AA-" due to the deterioration of the budget position, cuts and savings will be made in public spending.
Le Maire made statements on S&P's downgrade of France's credit rating in a video posted on his YouTube account.
PUBLIC EXPENDITURES ARE BEING REDUCED
Stating that the credit rating downgrade means that savings are needed, Le Maire pointed out that the government plans to cut public spending by 10 billion euros this year.
Le Maire emphasized that France prioritizes reducing public spending, which exceeds 450 billion euros every year, and said that they are committed to the aforementioned savings plan decided at the beginning of the year.
Pointing out that the main reason for S&P's decision to downgrade the credit rating was the rise in the country's debt level, Le Maire said, "Our debt level has risen because we saved the French economy in the face of Covid-19 and inflation crises."
"RETURN TO HEALTHY PUBLIC FINANCES"
Le Maire stated that there is now a return to normalcy and a return to healthy public finances by reducing exceptional expenditures linked to the crisis and said, "We will continue our strategy in the same way. Without accelerating or slowing down, we will continue exactly on the same path."
S&P downgraded France's "AA" credit rating to "AA-" and announced that the country's long-term credit outlook was "stable".
In the statement, it was stated that the downgrade of France's credit rating was based on the projection that the country's general public debt to GDP ratio would increase as a result of larger budget deficits than expected in 2023-2027.
