Fitch’s penalty and warning

2023-04-29 17:54:00

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EDITORIAL. The decision of the financial agency is not only a snub for the head of state. It is also a serious warning shot for the French.

Pierre-Antoine Delhommais

Mobilization against the pension reform in Paris, April 13, 2023.
© Amaury Cornu/Hans Lucas via AFP

Published on 04/29/2023 at 5:54 p.m.

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LTimes are decidedly tough for Emmanuel Macron. While he already has to face the anger of the French, the shouting matches and the casserolades, the head of state has just suffered a new offense with the decision of the financial agency Fitch to lower by one notchto AA-, the rating assigned to France’s debt.

We can even speak of a real snub when we know that the pension reform was precisely supposed to reassure international financial circles by demonstrating the government’s determination to combat deficits and restore some order in public finances that three years of health and energy policies have deteriorated terribly. Suffice to say that the objective was completely missed.

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