MOODY'S HOLDS FRANCE RATING AT AA3

Moody's kept France's sovereign rating at Aa3 on October 23, one notch above the A+ grade that Fitch and S&P already assigned after their own downgrades this year. The agency shifted its outlook from stable to negative and trimmed its 2026 deficit forecast to 5% of GDP, down from an earlier 5.2% estimate but still above 2025's actual 5.1%. Moody's credited a budget deal between the moderate left and center-right in a fractured parliament, while warning that political fragmentation could keep stalling further fiscal fixes. $EWQ