PARIS, June 2 (Reuters) - Ratings agency S&P spared France on Friday the embarrassment of downgrading the country's sovereign debt, but remained cautious about the outlook on account of strained public finances.
S&P left the country's AA rating untouched after a regular review and said that the outlook remained negative due to "downside risks to our forecast for France's public finances amid its already elevated general government debt".
Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire told weekend newspaper Le Journal du Dimanche that S&P's decision to keep its AA rating was a "positive signal" and that the government's public finance strategy was credible.
S&P said that potential triggers for a downgrade could come in the form of prolonged economic slowdown or failure to rein in the public finances, notably by leaving public spending high.
Le Maire said that "several billion euros" in budget savings would be detailed later this month after a spending review for which he has asked each ministry to identify cutbacks worth 5% of their budget.
Persons:
Fitch, Bruno Le Maire, Le Maire, Leigh Thomas, Diane Craft, Will Dunham
Organizations:
AA, Finance, Thomson
Locations:
France