Standard & Poor's has decided to downgrade France's top-notch credit rating but will spare Germany, Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands, an EU government source told AFP on Friday.
"France loses its triple-A rating," the source said on condition of anonymity, adding that the credit ratings agency, one of the world's top three, has notified the governments of its decision.
France was along with Germany, Luxembourg and the Netherlands among the six eurozone nations with a AAA rating. The source was unable to say what S&P decided to do with the two others, Austria and Finland.
Belgium has an AA rating, which is two notches below the top score.
S&P warned last month that the credit ratings of 15 of the eurozone's 17 member states were at risk of a downgrade due to the ongoing debt crisis.
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