FRANCE’S gross domestic product contracted 5.8% in the first quarter and is officially in a recession, mainly because of the coronavirus lockdown imposed since mid-March, the national statistics agency said today.
The drop is the biggest since quarterly gross domestic product (GDP) evaluations began in 1949, exceeding the third quarter 1.6% drop in 2009 and the 5.3% contraction in the second quarter of 1968, the agency said.