French deficit seen at 11.3% of output in 2020 - minister
PARIS (Reuters) - France will end 2020 with a public deficit of 248 billion euros (223.25 billion pounds), or 11.3% of its economic output, junior economy minister Olivier Dussopt said in an interview published on Sunday.
The French government this week shifted its economic forecasts after the country entered a second lockdown to fight a resurgence in coronavirus infections. The economy is now expected to contract by 11% in 2020, compared to an earlier estimate of 10%.
Dussopt told Le Journal du Dimanche newspaper that the COVID-19 crisis has so far cost France 186 billion euros, in terms of lost income and due to measures brought in to counter the epidemic and its economic consequences.
