(2)The Banque de France is regulated in France by the ‘Code monétaire et financier’ as modified by Loi No 2008-776 of 4 August 2008 2 . Article L.141-6 of the ‘Code monétaire et financier’ allows the Banque de France to receive all necessary information from market participants to develop its essential functions. The ‘Contrat de service public entre l’Etat et la Banque de France’ 3 (hereafter ‘the Contract’), renewed every 3 years, explicitly mentions the issuing of credit ratings by the Banque de France as one of the activities that the Banque de France is to ensure.