PARIS – The French economy plunged into a deep recession last year as the coronavirus pandemic slashed total output by 8.3%, official figures showed today.
The figures were however slightly better than the 9.0% shrinkage initially indicated by the official statistics office INSEE as France suffered less in the latter part of the year from a second coronavirus lockdown.
The French economy contracted by a relatively modest 1.3% in the last three months of 2020.
The government for its part had estimated the economy would shrink by a much worse 11% for the year.
During the second virus lockdown later in the year, "the loss of economic activity was much more modest than that of the first round in March-May 2020", INSEE said.
But in the fourth quarter alone, gross domestic product (GDP) was down 5.0% compared with fourth quarter 2019, it noted.
The French economy grew 1.5% in 2019, putting it among the best performers in Europe, but the downturn last year marks its worst recession since World War II. – AFP, January 29, 2021
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