Fitch downgrade to lowest level on record complicates new prime minister Sebastien Lecornu and President Emmanuel Macron’s efforts to control France’s finances

The Fitch agency downgraded France’s credit rating on Friday, as President Emmanuel Macron struggles with political instability and disagreements on how to put the country’s strained public finances in order.

The US rating agency, one of the top global institutions gauging the financial solidity of sovereign borrowers, downgraded France on its ability to pay back debts, from “AA-” to “A+”, the country’s lowest level on record at a major credit rating agency.