The French central bank stated that the country's economy likely contracted by 4% in the last quarter of the previous year compared to the previous three months, although activity increased significantly in December after lockdown measures imposed to combat the spread of the coronavirus were lifted.
Due to the performance in the fourth quarter of last year, Banque de France maintained its previous estimate that the second-largest economy in the Eurozone contracted by 9%. The French central bank estimated that the economy's performance this month is 7% lower than pre-crisis levels, but it recorded an improvement from the -11% rate in November when the country was undergoing its second lockdown due to the coronavirus pandemic.
