France Answers Credit Downgrade With Promises of Reforms

Got your attention, did they?

France said on Tuesday it would respond to a Moody's credit downgrade by pushing on with reforms, complaining that the ratings agency had overlooked steps already taken to revamp the euro zone's second-largest economy.

France lost its prized triple-A badge from the Standard & Poor's agency in January, so Monday's move by Moody's was not surprising. But it underlined doubts about Socialist President Francois Hollande's ability to fix France's public finances.

The downgrade also highlighted the divergence with the top-rated regional powerhouse Germany whose finance minister called it a "small warning" to its most important euro zone partner.