13.01.202108:14:00UTC+00France GDP Shrinks 4% In Q4: Bank Of France

The French economy contracted in the final quarter of 2020 despite easing of the Covid-19 containment measures in December, the Bank of France said Wednesday.

The bank said the economy shrank 4 percent sequentially in the fourth quarter, taking the annual fall for the whole year of 2020 to 9 percent, unchanged from the previous estimate.

In the third quarter, GDP grew 18.7 percent sequentially after the lifting of the containment measures.

The central bank estimated that the loss of GDP was around 7 percent compared to the pre-crisis level, but was better than the -8 percent anticipated last month.

According to central bank, in December, activity was stable in construction and improved markedly in services and slightly in industry after the reopening of shops.