PARIS, Dec. 4 (Xinhua) -- More than half of French people do not think France can escape recession next year, according to an opinion poll released Friday.

    The BVA poll asked more than 1,000 people older than 15 whether they thought France would come out of recession in 2010. Some 64 percent of those surveyed said no.

    During a previous BVA survey in October, 60 percent of French people said the "hardest time" of the crisis "is yet to come."

    The unemployment rate in France's mainland stood at 9.1 percent in the third quarter. Although the economy showed timid but consecutive resilience in the past two quarters, the recession is still hanging heavily on the French labor market.

    The European Commission has forecast the unemployment rate in France will climb further to 10.2 percent in 2010.

Special Report:  Global Financial Crisis