The economic impact of last month's attacks in Paris will likely wipe a quarter off the growth that had been expected in the final three months of the year, the Bank of France said yesterday. The French Central Bank said it was now expecting 0.3 percent growth in the fourth quarter, against 0.4 percent previously. A cut of 0.1 percentage points in growth represents around 500 million euros in economic activity, according to an estimate by the French Treasury. "Activity in [the] services [sector] rose at a more moderate pace than in previous months," the Bank of France said in a statement. The impact was felt most harshly by hotels, restaurants and leisure activities, which "notably weakened in connection with the Nov. 13 attacks." Business services, meanwhile, continued to grow. Corporate leaders were reporting an overall rise in activity in the month of December, the bank said, but industrial production growth was slowing down from November and prices weakened. The bank reaffirmed last week its forecast for the French economy to grow 1.2 percent overall in 2015.
