PARIS (dpa-AFX) - French retail sales logged a sharp double-digit decline in March as many stores remained closed during the coronavirus lockdown, data from the Bank of France showed Wednesday.
Retail sales plunged 24 percent from February. Sales of industrial goods declined 43.4 percent, while food sales dropped only 0.9 percent.
In the first quarter, retail sales fell 7.2 percent, reflecting falls in industrial product sales, especially, optics, automobile and furniture.
Meanwhile, pharmaceutical product sales grew 2.7 percent and food product sales advanced 3.2 percent.
President Emmanuel Macron has extended the lockdown to contain the spread of coronavirus, until May 11.
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