French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said on Friday that the new lockdown in France will negatively impact the country’s economic growth. President Emmanuel Macron announced on Wednesday that the country would be locked down for the third time on Saturday. France is one of the countries in the European Union worst affected by the Corona pandemic. Consequently, the measures taken resulted in an economic contraction of 8.8 percent last year.
The effect of the new one-month lockdown is not yet known. Le Maire says he will be able to provide more clarity about the economic consequences in the coming days. “The measures will affect economic growth in 2021. We are still investigating the impact and will issue a new assessment in the coming days,” the French finance minister said.
Macron chose a new lockdown on Wednesday, due to the rapid increase in the number of Corona infections and the disturbing reports from hospitals in and around Paris. The intensive care units there are crowded with Corona patients. The French President indicated that his country is on its way to the death of 100,000 people in Corona. “We will lose control if we do not act now,” he said.
Coronavirus is on the rise on the European mainland. In addition to the coronavirus measures in France, measures have also been extended in Germany. In Belgium, the government has also taken additional steps to curb the virus, but these measures are faltering now that a judge has ruled that all Belgian Corona rules be annulled within thirty days.
