French AAA rating stable, says S&P

Paris: France's AAA rating is stable, ratings agency Standard and Poor's chief European economist Jean-Michel Six told France Inter radio on Sunday.

"The French rating is stable," Six said.

Six said that political leadership and good governance are a major factor in ratings agencies' deliberations about rating reviews.

French bond holders fear that following the downgrade of US debt from AAA to AA+ on Friday, the spotlight could turn on France, which would push up French interest rates.

France has the weakest economic fundamentals among the six AAA rated countries in the euro zone and French President Nicolas Sarkozy has made the defence of the country's AAA rating a top government priority.

The three major ratings agencies have all reaffirmed France's AAA ratings over the past eight months.