France lashes out at S&P's 'shocking' error

(AP) France lashes 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.

On the website of French newspaper La Tribune on Friday, French Finance Minister François Baroin described the S&P message "a rather shocking rumor of information that has no foundation."

In a statement about an hour and a half after the initial alert 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 assuage concerns that the country may be downgraded.

The French market regulator has already opened an investigation, at Baroin's request.