...PARIS (Standard & Poor's) Oct. 13, 2014--Standard & Poor's Ratings Services said today that its ratings and outlook on Electricite de France S.A. (EDF; A+/Stable/A-1) and its subsidiaries remain unchanged following the revision of the outlook on France to negative from stable and the affirmation of the sovereign rating (see "France Outlook Revised To Negative; '##/A-1+' Ratings Affirmed," published Oct. 10, 2014, on RatingsDirect). We base our 'A+' rating on EDF on our assessment of the group's stand-alone credit profile (SACP) at 'a', and on our opinion that there is a "high" likelihood that the French state would provide extraordinary timely and sufficient support to EDF in the event of financial stress. The stable outlook on EDF reflects our criteria for government-related entities (GREs), as a one-notch downgrade of France would not prompt a rating action on EDF, all other things remaining equal. We nevertheless think that EDF's SACP remains under pressure because mounting uncertainties...
