Covid-19 to cost France nearly half a trillion euros over three years

The Covid-19 pandemic will set the French state back 424 billion euros over three years in additional spending and reduced tax revenues, the government has said.

Public Accounts Minister Olivier Dussopt told Le Figaro daily on Tuesday, that the health crisis cost the state an estimated 158 billion euros in 2020, a figure set to rise to 171 billion euros in 2021 but then fall back to 96 billion euros in 2022.

The figures, which have been confirmed by the finance ministry bring the estimated cost of the pandemic to a total of 424 billion euros over the 3 year period from 2020 and 2022.

The costs include money spent on supporting the salaries of people on furlough during the pandemic and state aid for companies struggling to stay afloat during the crisis.

🔴 L’épidémie de #covid19 va laisser une profonde trace sur les finances publiques françaises. Mais la France n’est pas le seul État à être durement touché. Selon le FMI, la crise devrait coûter plus de 12 000 milliards de dollars à l’économie mondiale. https://t.co/T0lTJL3i16
— Le Figaro (@Le_Figaro) April 13, 2021

France has borrowed heavily to try keep the economy afloat through three nationwide lockdowns and public debt is forecast to reach 118 percent of GDP this year while the budget deficit is expected to hit 9 percent of GDP, which is a postwar record.