The International Monetary Fund's head economist has criticised the recent decision by the ratings agency Standard & Poor's to downgrade the French economy. Olivier Blanchard said the downgrade "wasn't justified" and that there was not "an increased risk" that the country would struggle to pay its debt. Mr Blanchard, a French national, told the German newspaper Sueddeutsche Zeitung that "the situation in France isn't rosy, but not as bad as it is sometimes portrayed". France's President Francois Hollande was embarrassed this month when the country's credit rating was cut from AA+ to AA, its lowest-ever level, by S&P. ... (full story)