Fitch Ratings downgraded France’s sovereign credit score from “AA-” to “A+” on September 12 in response to mounting political instability and spiraling public debt—marking France’s lowest rating ever from a top global agency. The move comes after Prime Minister François Bayrou resigned over a failed parliamentary confidence vote regarding his austerity-driven budget plan, exposing deep fractures in France’s political system and sparking immediate fiscal uncertainty. Watch for more