The French economy will decline 0.4 percent in GDP in 2009 with an unemployment rate of 8.2 percent, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) warned in a report on Tuesday.

Governments and central banks should provide more support for their economies in face of the deepening recession, the OECD said in the latest Economic Outlook.

The Paris-based organization predicted that rising unemployment and financial uncertainty would last until late 2009 at the earliest.

According to the OECD, the global financial crisis would drag France into recession in 2009 with only 0.8 percent growth registered in 2008.

The euro-zone's second largest economy will be hit hard by the crisis. However it will recover significantly in 2010 with a 1.5 percent increase in GDP.

"The impact of this turbulence will reverberate well into 2009 with negative growth until the middle of the year, following by a gradual resumption of activity," the report said.

In the next two years, the unemployment rate was expected to increase while housing prices would continue falling.

The recession would push unemployment from 7.3 percent this year to 8.2 percent in 2009, and to 8.9 percent in 2010, the report predicted.

France's budget deficit would increase to 3.7 percent of GDP in 2009 from 2.9 percent this year, and to 3.9 percent in 2010, the report added.

(Xinhua News Agency November 26, 2008)