French central bank revises down Q1 growth projection

Source: Xinhua | 2020-03-10

France's central bank (BdF) on Monday lowered its growth forecast to 0.1 percent for the first quarter this year from the previous forecast of 0.3 percent due to "strong uncertainty about the future production linked to the coronavirus."

"Uncertainty first affects the sectors exposed to China, either via their supplies or via their customers (tourism, luxury). But it also reaches services in France where demand has slowed down due to the measures taken to contain the epidemic: transport, accommodation and catering, events and temporary work," said the BdF in a statement.

"This slowdown is potentially severe but temporary," it added.

Speaking to France Inter radio, Minister of the Economy and Finance Bruno Le Maire on Monday warned that the impact of the coronavirus could be "severe", without giving accurate estimate.

Le Maire previously said the epidemic would shave 0.1 percentage point off France's economic growth this year. The government had set growth target at 1.3 percent for 2020.