French economy to shrink by 10% this year, recovery mid-2022

The French economy will likely shrink about 10 percent this year due to the coronavirus pandemic and will not recover to pre-crisis levels until mid-2022, the Bank of France said Tuesday.

It said signs of a "gradual" recovery should be seen from the third quarter of this year, after a slump in output of 15 percent expected in the three months to June due to the "very sharp shock" resulting from the countrywide lockdown imposed in March.

The economy should then expand seven percent in 2021, gaining another four percent in 2022, it said.

But unemployment is expected to surge to above 11.5 percent by mid-2021, well above previous peaks, the bank said.

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