By Leigh Thomas

PARIS (Reuters) – Credit rating agency Fitch downgraded France’s sovereign credit score on Friday to the country’s lowest level on record, stripping the euro zone’s second-largest economy of its AA- status as it grapples with political crisis and ballooning debt.

The move, bringing Fitch’s score to A+, heaps pressure on Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu just days into the job as he scrambles to form a cabinet and draft a 2026 budget that can pass a deeply divided parliament.

The rating, the lowest on record for a major credit rating agency, has a stable outlook for future moves, Fitch said, attributing its cut to the lack of “a clear horizon for debt stabilisation in subsequent years”.

The downgrade was already priced into markets, analysts said. But the timing of the mo

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