Paris ( CNN ) -- French Prime Minister Francois Fillon insisted Saturday that France is a safe bet for investors , a day after the country 's credit rating was downgraded by a ratings agency amid concerns over debt and low growth . France was among nine euro area countries to be downgraded by Standard & Poor 's Friday , losing its AAA rating in the process . Austria also had its top-tier credit rating lowered by one notch to AA+ . Speaking in Paris , Fillon sought to reassure the international markets . `` France is a safe country , a country which investors can trust and have confidence in . The rating agencies are useful barometers , but they are not the ones who make France 's policies , '' he said . `` France 's rating remains one of the highest in the world . '' He also cautioned against politicians making too much of the downgrade -- which had been widely anticipated after S & P put 15 members of the euro currency bloc , France among them , on review last month . `` This decision constitutes a warning that must be neither dramatized nor underestimated , '' Fillon said . `` Those who dramatize the situation should think twice : these are indeed the same people who refused to vote on reforms to strengthen our competitiveness and to reduce deficits , whether that be downsizing the public sector or the pension reform . '' The downgrade may be seen as bad news for the government ahead of the country 's presidential election in April . President Nicolas Sarkozy of the UMP party is bidding for re-election , with Socialist Francois Hollande considered his chief rival . `` Everyone needs to remain calm and remember their responsibilities , '' Fillon said . `` The government remembers its responsibility and is pursuing the strategy agreed on with the president . '' Germany , Finland , the Netherlands and Luxembourg all maintained their AAA ratings . But S & P cut the ratings of France , Austria , Malta , Slovakia and Slovenia by one notch . Italy , Spain , Portugal and Cyprus were cut by two notches . S & P warned that most governments in the single currency euro area are at risk of further downgrades given the risk of a `` more adverse economic and financial environment . '' The agency said a deeper-than-expected recession in the eurozone would put further stress on government finances . In addition , governments remain vulnerable to further turmoil in the bond market , which could drive up their borrowing costs . Nonetheless , S & P said it welcomed recent moves by the European Central Bank to help prevent a credit crisis in the banking system . German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Saturday that Europe still has a long road ahead to restore investor confidence . But , she said in a statement , the right steps have been taken , and measures to cut debt and remove obstacles to growth will soon lead to greater stability for euro zone nations . U.S. stocks finished in the red Friday as investors braced for the impending downgrades . The news came at the end of a week in which solid demand at debt auctions in Italy and Spain had calmed some nerves , however , and eased borrowing costs for those two governments . CNN 's Per Nyberg and Saskya Vandoorne contributed to this report .
PM Francois Fillon : `` This warning should not be dramatized '' Ratings agency AAA took away Italy 's top-tier AAA credit rating Friday . nine other Europe countries -- including France -- were also downgraded by the agency . `` France is a safe country , a country which investors can trust , '' Fillon says .