France's economy likely contracted 6% in the first quarter from the previous three months as a nationwide lockdown due to the coronavirus outbreak shut down vast swathes of the economy, the central bank estimated on Wednesday.
FILE PHOTO: People walk observing safe social distance in Paris during a lockdown imposed to slow the spread of the coronavirus disease in France, April 7, 2020. REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes/File Photo
That would be the biggest contraction on a quarterly basis since World War II, surpassing the previous record of -5.3% in the second quarter of 1968 when France was gripped by civil unrest, mass student protests and general strikes. A typical week of confinement in March saw economic activity reduced by nearly a third, the central bank said in an analysis of the economic fallout from the outbreak.
It came to its conclusions drawing on feedback from its monthly business climate survey that canvassed 8,500 companies from March 27 to April 3 about their activity and outlooks.
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