authorities tightened bank supervision and prudential regulation, lending dropped by 25% and asset prices halved. Combined with raising savings rate and worldwide economic troubles, this led to a sharp drop of aggregate demand and a wave of bankruptcies. Credit losses mounted and a banking crisis inevitability followed. The number of companies went down by 15%, real GDP contracted about 14% and unemployment rose from 3% to nearly 20% in four years. Recovery has been based on exports, after currency devaluation of 40% and reviving world economy share of exports as percentage of GDP has risen from 20% to 45%, and Finland has been running consistent current account surpluses. Despite this impressive performance and strong growth mass unemployment has remained a problem. France France, just as the rest of continental Europe, entered recession later compared to economies of anglophone countries. The economic climate started to worsen in late 1989 (first in industry) in several phases: A progressive slowing of economic activity between late 1989 and Autumn 1990 due mostly to slowing exports (especially to depressed North American markets) ; A sudden slump in the latter part of 1990 as the Gulf War amplified previous tendencies ; A stand-by situation between mid 1991 and Autumn 1992 as the end of the War in the Gulf provided for some temporary relief ; Another slump in late 1992 as external demand dries up and the aftermaths of Black Wednesday. The recession officially starts at the end of 1992 and beginning of the 1993. It is a brief but important recession: GDP drops 0.5% in the last quarter of 1992 and 0.9% in the first quarter of 1993. The drop is amplified by weak exports figures as most of France's trading partners also entered recession at the end of 1992. On a yearly basis, GDP growth was limited to 1.5% in 1992 and –0.9% in 1993, the first negative figure since 1975. Industry is vastly affected by the recession: output dropped 5.3% in volume in 1993 with a catastrophic first semester and a very limited recovery in the second. The construction industry is also affected by the recession with a 3.9% decrease in volume of output. All the composants of GDP were depressed in 1993: Household consumption recorded its slowest increase in 30 years (+0.4% in volume) ; Investment from both households (residential investments) and enterprises decreased significantly (–4.4 and –6.8% respectively). For the latter