French deficit seen at 11.3% of output in 2020 - minister

PARIS (Reuters) - France will end 2020 with a public deficit of 248 billion euros (223.25 billion pounds), or 11.3% of its economic output, junior economy minister Olivier Dussopt said in an interview published on Sunday.

The French government this week shifted its economic forecasts after the country entered a second lockdown to fight a resurgence in coronavirus infections. The economy is now expected to contract by 11% in 2020, compared to an earlier estimate of 10%.

Dussopt told Le Journal du Dimanche newspaper that the COVID-19 crisis has so far cost France 186 billion euros, in terms of lost income and due to measures brought in to counter the epidemic and its economic consequences.

(Reporting by Sarah White; Editing by Leslie Adler)