French economy shrinks by 13.8% during lockdown

France's ecomy shrank by nearly 14% per cent in second quarter of this year when country was in coronavirus lockdown, national statistics ncy said on Friday.

It marked a third consecutive quarter of negative growth amid a worsening recession.

startling plunge of 13.8% in France's GDP from April to June starkly illustrated punishing ecomic cost of two-month lockdown.

pain was so damaging to jobs and industries that government is talking down possibility of ar nationwide lockdown as infections tick urd again.

France's ecomy was alrey slowing, shrinking by 0.2% in last quarter of 2019, before pandemic hit with full force.

country's GDP n fell 5.9% in first quarter of 2020 as COVID-19 patients started to flood and overwhelm hospitals.

That health crisis, with COVID-19 killing more than 30,000 people in France, prompted government in March to introduce what was one of Europe's strictest lockdowns, halting much activity in second-largest ecomy of countries that use euro currency.

French finance minister Bru Le Maire has called on French consumers to help kickstart recovery.

" best way to come out of this ecomic crisis quickly is for French to spend," he said Friday.