RTWed, 08 Apr 2020 16:20 UTC
© AFP / Bertrand Guay'Protected Designation of Origin' cheeses at a Paris fair
The Bank of France said on Wednesday that the country's economy
shrank around six percent in the first quarter of this year, its worst performance since the end of WWII.
According to official figures, the economy dropped 0.1 percent in the last three months of 2019 as the coronavirus pandemic decimated business activity.
With two consecutive quarters of negative growth, the country is now technically in recession.Economic activity plunged 32 percent in the last two weeks of March as the crisis deepened, said the French regulator. It has listed
construction, transport, restaurants and lodging among the worst affected sectors of the economy.
"You have to go back to the second quarter of 1968, hit by the May [political upheaval], to find a similar fall in activity," it said, noting that even that year the downturn was 5.3 percent.
The bank expects the economy to shrink by 1.5 percent for every two weeks the country is locked down by the virus.
Comment: French 'protected designation of origin' cheeses have experienced drops in purchase orders from 25 to 80%, and producers are
struggling to stay afloat. Wine has been hit too, with fairs canceled or postponed and exports dropping as pubs, bars and restaurants close. While numbers of reported new cases are falling in many countries, London's mayor says the UK is
nowhere near ending the lockdown, predicting 'peak corona' in a week and a half. In Lebanon,
Hezbollah took over public health in the south of the country, using its own hospitals and health workers, and disinfecting cities: "In its communications, Hezbollah reminds the Lebanese people that it has defended the country against the Israeli aggressor instead of the State and that it continues to defend them today against the pandemic in the absence of the State."
According to the WHO, masks
don't work (try telling that to China, South Korea, Japan, etc.):
WHO also notes that the generalized use of such masks provides a false sense of security. The organization insists that only hygienic measures (washing hands, airing out the premises etc.) and social distancing can protect against the virus.
The wearing of surgical masks was recommended by the Japanese authorities during the 1918 Spanish flu epidemic. The use was immediately adopted by many countries and subsequently spread throughout Asia. However, this measure was actually aimed at keeping the morale high and had no real impact on the epidemic.
If true, that's exactly why people will still use them. E.g., local German authorities got
scammed into buying a batch of nonexistent masks, losing $2.61 million in the process out of the $15.9 million deal.
See also:
Comment: French 'protected designation of origin' cheeses have experienced drops in purchase orders from 25 to 80%, and producers are struggling to stay afloat. Wine has been hit too, with fairs canceled or postponed and exports dropping as pubs, bars and restaurants close. While numbers of reported new cases are falling in many countries, London's mayor says the UK is nowhere near ending the lockdown, predicting 'peak corona' in a week and a half. In Lebanon, Hezbollah took over public health in the south of the country, using its own hospitals and health workers, and disinfecting cities: "In its communications, Hezbollah reminds the Lebanese people that it has defended the country against the Israeli aggressor instead of the State and that it continues to defend them today against the pandemic in the absence of the State."
According to the WHO, masks don't work (try telling that to China, South Korea, Japan, etc.): If true, that's exactly why people will still use them. E.g., local German authorities got scammed into buying a batch of nonexistent masks, losing $2.61 million in the process out of the $15.9 million deal.
See also: