France to cut 2021 GDP forecast

France is preparing to cut its forecast for an 8% rebound in economic growth in 2021 in the wake of new lockdown measures imposed to contain the second wave of coronavirus, Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said in an interview with Sunday paper Journal Du Dimanche. 

The crisis is particularly violent and brutal for a certain number of sectors, and it will be long-lasting. But the French economy’s capacity to resist is exceptional.

The severity of the impending downward revision could depend on whether authorities decide to loosen or tighten restrictions during the review this Thursday. The latest measures are less stringent than the ones imposed earlier this year. As such, the French government expects the economy to run at around 85% of pre-crisis levels, instead of as little as 70% in March, according to Bloomberg.