France slams ratings blunder

France has lashed out at ratings agency Standard & Poor’s for accidentally sending out a note to some clients saying it was downgrading its view on Europe’s second-biggest economy.

French Finance Minister Francois Baroin described the S&P message as “a rather shocking rumour of information that has no foundation”.

In a statement about an hour and a half after the initial alert on Thursday, Standard & Poor’s said a technical error caused the automatic dissemination of a message to some subscribers.

Its ensuing statement that France’s rating remained AAA is unlikely to dispel worries that the country may be downgraded.

The French market regulator has already opened an investigation.