Egan-Jones Cuts France’s Credit Rating

Ratings agency Egan-Jones cut France's sovereign credit rating to BBB-plus with a negative outlook on Thursday, citing expectations that the country's funding costs will see more pressure as the euro zone sovereign debt crisis continues to roil markets.

"For the most part, over the past 18 months France has been exempted from the rise in funding costs," Egan-Jones said in a statement.

"However, as the crisis evolves, we expect that France will be pressured. The deterioration in France's credit metrics combined with the needed (support) for France's banks are likely to pressure the country," the statement read.

Moody's Investors Service currently rates France Aaa, Standard & Poor's rates France AA-plus and Fitch Ratings rates the country AAA. All three of those ratings have a negative outlook.

(Reporting by Luciana Lopez; Editing by James Dalgleish)