ABSTRACT
France was deeply affected by the present economic crisis, albeit later than other OECD countries. The GDP still grew in 2008, even if it only reached a modest 0.2 per cent. In 2009, the country transitioned from stagnation to severe recession when the GDP fell by 2.6 per cent. The direct consequences were a significant rise in unemployment rates (from 7.4 per cent at the end of 2008 to 9.5 per cent in May 2010) and numerous, registered bankruptcies of industrial businesses.
