France Q2 GDP falls by record 13.8% as Covid lockdowns bite

France’s economy contracted by a record 13.8% in the second quarter as it felt the impact of coronavirus lockdowns, official data showed on Friday.

The seasonally-adjusted quarter-on-quarter drop in gross domestic product (GDP) was better than forecasts of a mid-17% fall, but worse than the performance of other eurozone states.

France’s central bank had estimated a 14% fall at the beginning of July.

“GDP’s negative developments in first half of 2020 is linked to the shut-down of ‘non-essential’ activities in the context of the implementation of the lockdown between mid-March and the beginning of May,” the national statistics institute INSEE said in a statement.

The first quarter figure was also updated to a 5.9% contraction from a previous estimate of 5.3%.

France’s second quarter contraction compared to a record 10.1% fall in Germany, 10.7% in Austria and 12.2% in Belgium.