(ILLUSTRATION) An illustration dated 17 January 2012 shows three A’s lying on euro banknotes in Cologne, Germany. The rating agency Standard & Poor’s (S&P) downgraded the credit rating of France as well as eight additional euro-zone countries last Friday. Of the 17 euro-zone countries, only 4, Germany, Finnland, The Netherlands and Luxembourg, received the best rating “AAA”. Photo: OLIVER BERG