France public deficit will jump to 3.9% due to coronavirus

France's public deficit will jump to 3.9% of gross domestic product as the coronavirus epidemic will cause the economy to shrink by an estimated 1% and a rescue plan will cost the state some 45 billion euros, French Budget Minister Gerald Darmanin told financial daily Les Echos newspaper.

"I have always defended financial rigor in peacetime so that France does not have to skimp on its budget in times of war," Darmanin was quoted as saying.

Prior to the crisis, France had drafted its 2020 state budget with a public-sector budget deficit of 2.2% of GDP.