Moody’s downgrades French debt rating, presses for austerity in Europe

Moody’s downgrades French debt rating, presses for austerity in Europe

Moody’s toujours aussi sympa, pousse à mort pour encore plus de mesures d’austérité

By Alex Lantier
23 November 2012

►http://www.wsws.org/articles/2012/nov2012/mood-n23.shtml

On November 19, the credit rating agency Moody’s downgraded France’s sovereign debt by one notch from Aaa, the top rating, to Aa1. It warned that its outlook on France’s creditworthiness remained negative.

The Moody’s downgrade aims to pressure French President François Hollande to intensify his reactionary and unpopular austerity policies. Hollande’s Socialist Party (PS) government has announced plans for over €80 billion (US$103 billion) in spending and corporate tax cuts and for slashing labor law protections for workers to boost French corporate competitiveness. The PS now faces a political crisis as Hollande’s approval ratings collapse, to 36 percent.