PARIS, May 25 (Xinhua) -- French government's rescue measures to limit coronavirus economic fallout and inject dynamism into economic activities have cost 450 billion euros (490.6 billion U.S. dollars), Economy and Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said on Monday.
"If we take everything that has been done with the budget and in support of businesses' cash flows, it's 450 billion euros -- 20 percent of the nation's wealth on the table to save our economy, our enterprises," Le Maire told BFM TV.
The coronavirus epidemic has forced companies to shut down, plants to halt production, aircraft to ground and millions of people to be put under strict lockdown, triggering the country's worst economic crisis since the World War II.
To help mitigate the impact, the government has launched a range of measures including state-guaranteed loans, tax relief, specific support plans to worst-hit sectors such as tourism and auto industry, and state-subsidized partial unemployment scheme.
While reining in high spending that pushed up the budget deficit to 9 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP), the highest since 1940s, the government eyes repaying billion-worth coronavirus-linked expenditure thanks to boosted growth.
"The question is, when should we repay the loans? Not now. We must not make the same mistakes as after the 2009 crisis: revive the economy and at the same time immediately reduce public spending," the minister said.
"The time will come when we will have to reimburse and this will be done through growth, it is our strategic choice. We must develop and modernize the industry, cross a technological course and find room for maneuver that will allow us to repay," he added.
The French government expected the GDP to shrink by 8 percent and public debt to hit 115 percent of the GDP this year. (1 euro = 1.09 U.S. dollars) Enditem
