PARIS, Aug 24 — The French government is sticking to its forecast for an 11 per cent contraction of the French economy this year because of uncertainty over the outlook for the global economy, finance minister Bruno Le Maire said today.

Asked about a forecast from the national statistics agency for a 9 per cent contraction this year, Le Maire said on RTL radio that "for now, we confirm the figure of a minus 11 per cent recession”.

"While there has been a strong recovery in May-June, between now and year-end there is still a lot of uncertainty, notably Brexit, the US election and the new Chinese five-year plan. All that will weigh on world trade and therefore on French growth,” he said. — Reuters