France's rating downgraded: François Bayrou castigates the "elites" who lead France "to reject the truth"

Political instability is worrying financial markets. After the downgrade of France's rating by the Fitch rating agency , former Prime Minister François Bayrou, ousted on Monday in a confidence vote on the issue of public finances, denounced on Friday the "elites" who are leading France "to deny the truth."

Four days after losing a vote of confidence in the National Assembly that he himself had requested , after a final alarmist speech on the state of public finances, the former head of government commented on X on the lowering of France's debt rating to A+ with a stable outlook.

Until now, France had a rating one notch higher, AA-, with a negative outlook that opened the door to its downgrade. "Fitch Rating: A country whose elites lead it to deny the truth is condemned to pay the price," the MoDem president simply posted on the social network X.

"The downgrade must bring us together to react and permanently correct France's budgetary trajectory," resigning Trade Minister Véronique Louwagie (LR) also reacted on X. The new Prime Minister, Sébastien Lecornu, has the mission of finding a budgetary path forward despite the lack of a majority in the Assembly and the risk of censure.

In a statement on Friday, LFI chairman of the National Assembly's Finance Committee, Éric Coquerel, said that "those solely responsible for this assessment are those who have dramatized the state of public finances for the sole benefit of their political agenda," arguing that "French debt remains safe and sought after."

"If the next government also chooses to rely on the markets to impose austerity, it will be heading for the catastrophe it itself announced and will lead the country ever further into economic, social and ecological crisis," he added.

The US agency cited in a statement "the fall of the government during a confidence vote" which "illustrates the fragmentation and growing polarization of domestic politics."

She believes that "this instability weakens the political system's ability to implement large-scale budgetary consolidation," deeming it unlikely that the public deficit will be brought below 3% of GDP in 2029, as the outgoing government had hoped.