France’s Central Bank: The Economy Expanded 16% in Q3

France’s central bank said Thursday that the country’s economy expanded 16% in Q3, after an unprecedented 13.8% decline in the previous three months, confirming earlier forecasts.

The second-largest economy in the eurozone fell sharply into recession in Q2 after imposing a set of strict lockdown measures in Europe to limit the outbreak of the Corona virus over two months.

The central bank said that since the measures were lifted on May 11, business activity has rebounded, and the economy has recorded employment rates 5% lower than pre-crisis rates in September, based on the results of a monthly survey of 8,500 companies.

The National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies this week expected the economy to grow 16% but warned that it was likely to witness a cooling off in the last three months of the year as the number of Covid-19 cases increased again.