France to pursue deficit cuts after Moody's: finance minister

PARIS (Reuters) - France will press ahead with its policies to improve competitiveness and growth while reducing the government deficit after credit ratings agency Moody's cut the outlook on its AAA rating to negative, Finance Minister Francois Baroin said on Tuesday.

"Moody's noted France's status as a sovereign debt issuer of reference," Baroin said in a statement. "The government's economic policy forms part of a framework and a long-term method. The government is determined to press ahead with its actions to boost growth and competitiveness, notably the reform of the financing of welfare, of employment and the reduction of public deficits."

Baroin noted Moody's had emphasized the high productivity and diversification of France's economy, and changed its credit rating outlook to negative because of the risks facing the euro zone as a whole.

(Reporting By Daniel Flynn)