Page 10 - France

Macron unveils $112.5 bn AI investment to boost France's tech ambitions

French President Emmanuel Macron compared this initiative to the $500-billion AI data centre project announced by US President Donald Trump last month

AI to strategic ties: What's on PM Modi's agenda as he leaves for France

PM Modi will also travel to the US on February 12, where he will meet President Donald Trump for the first time during his second term in the White House

Paris AI summit draws world leaders, CEOs eager for technology wave

Eagerness to rein in AI has waned since previous AI summits in Britain and South Korea that focused world powers' attention on technology's risks

India-France trade rose to $20 bn: Chambers of Commerce and Industry Prez

Earlier trade used to be in range of $15-18 billion, and was always seen to be used on the defence, aircraft, the air force, with mostly the industries of defence and aeronautics seen to be involved

PM Modi to co-chair AI Summit with France on February 11 in Paris

PM Modi will co-chair the upcoming Artificial Intelligence (AI) Action Summit with French President Emmanuel Macron with global leaders such as US Vice President JD Vance and China's Vice PM

France issues 16.8% more visas in 2024; Indians among top recipients

Long-term data since 2011 shows a slight rise in US arrivals, with a dip in 2020 and 2021, likely due to Covid-19 restrictions

Tesla registrations drop 63% in France amid rising competition in EU

Tesla's sales plummeted 41% last year in Germany, while overall battery-electric vehicle sales declined 27%. The Federal Motor Transport Authority is scheduled to report January results on Wednesday

Russia, Trump push Europe to be more independent, says French Prez Macron

Macron made the comments as he arrived at a gathering of European Union leaders in Brussels to discuss relations with the United States and bolstering Europe's military defences

France to double Bengaluru visa issuance by 2026, boost for techies

The French Consulate General in Bengaluru reached a milestone of 50,000 visa issuances in 2024

Thousands in Ireland without power as Storm Owyn hits UK and France

Ireland called in help from England and France as repair crews worked to restore power to hundreds of thousands of people after the most disruptive storm for years. Even as the cleanup continued, more wet and windy weather hit the UK, Ireland and France on Sunday. More than 1 million people in Ireland, Northern Ireland and Scotland were left without electricity after Storm owyn roared through on Friday. In Ireland, which suffered the heaviest damage, the wind snapped telephone poles, ripped apart a Dublin ice rink and even toppled a giant wind turbine. A wind gust of 114 mph (183 kph) was recorded on the west coast, breaking a record set in 1945. The state electricity company, ESB Networks, said that more than 300,000 properties in Ireland still had no power on Sunday, down from 768,000 on Friday. The Irish military was also helping out, but the company said that it could be two more weeks before electricity is restored to everyone. Irish Minister for Social Protection Dara Callear

Competition watchdog seeks official documents in Pernod Ricard probe

In the Delhi antitrust case, Pernod has been accused of asking retailers in 2021 to ensure 35 per cent of their stock consisted of the French company's brands

Families sue TikTok in France, link teen suicides to harmful content

In the moment when her world shattered three years ago, Stephanie Mistre found her 15-year-old daughter, Marie, lifeless in the bedroom where she died by suicide. I went from light to darkness in a fraction of a second, Mistre said, describing the day in September 2021 that marked the start of her fight against TikTok, the Chinese-owned video app she blames for pushing her daughter toward despair. Delving into her daughter's phone after her death, Mistre discovered videos promoting suicide methods, tutorials and comments encouraging users to go beyond mere suicide attempts. She said TikTok's algorithm had repeatedly pushed such content to her daughter. It was brainwashing, said Mistre, who lives in Cassis, near Marseille, in the south of France. They normalized depression and self-harm, turning it into a twisted sense of belonging. Now Mistre and six other families are suing TikTok France, accusing the platform of failing to moderate harmful content and exposing children to ...

India, France review ties weeks ahead of PM Modi's visit to Paris in Feb

India and France have agreed to expand their partnership in high-end technology sectors, ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's expected visit to Paris next month to attend a summit on artificial intelligence. The two sides discussed various aspects of the bilateral ties during India-France Foreign Office Consultations held in Paris on Monday. The meeting was co-chaired by Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri and Secretary-General of French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs Anne-Marie Descotes. In the talks, the two sides also deliberated on the evolving situation in the Middle East and the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Misri also called on French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot and Emmanuel Bonne, the diplomatic advisor to the French president. "Both sides undertook a comprehensive review of the progress made in various facets of bilateral cooperation, as outlined in the India-France Horizon 2047 Roadmap," the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said on Tuesday. The 'Horizon Roadma

India drops to 3rd in trust index; low-income less trusting of institutions

India has slipped one place to third slot when it comes to people's trust in the government, businesses, media and NGOs, while the low-income population is far less trusting than their richer counterparts, a study showed here on Monday. The annual Edelman Trust Barometer, now in its 25th year, released before the start of the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting, also showed that India ranks low at 13th place when it comes to trust of people in other countries, in companies with Indian headquarters. Canada topped this list of foreign-headquartered companies, followed by Japan, Germany, the UK, France and the US, while those ranked higher than India also included Mexico, South Africa, Saudi Arabia, China and Brazil. The overall list for trust of the general population in the government, businesses, media and NGOs was again topped by China, while Indonesia replaced India for the second spot by virtue of an increased score despite the Indian score remaining unchanged. The survey of 28

French carrier strike group conducts air-sea manoeuvres with Indian Navy

A few hours after setting sail, the CSG carried out cooperation activities with the Indian Navy at sea and in the air

PM Modi to attend AI Action Summit in France on Feb 10-11: French Prez

During a press briefing about the summit, the French Presidency announced that 90 countries, including India, had been invited to participate for Artificial Intelligence (AI) Action Summit

For the first time, CBI posted three officials in INTERPOL for cooperation

A senior official confirmed that for timely redressal of issues related to transnational crimes and tracking fugitives, they have stationed three CBI officers - two in France and one in Singapore

Jean-Marie Le Pen, co-founder of French far-right front, dies at 96

Jean-Marie Le Pen, co-founder of France's far-right National Front, has died at 96, Sebastien Chenu, a senior party official, said Tuesday. A polarising figure in French politics, Le Pen was known for his fiery rhetoric against immigration and multiculturalism that earned him both staunch supporters and widespread condemnation. His controversial statements, including Holocaust denial, led to multiple convictions and strained his political alliances. Le Pen, who once reached the second round of the 2002 presidential election, was eventually estranged from his daughter, Marine Le Pen. In 2011, she rebranded the party to shed its demonised image and expand its electoral appeal, culminating in her own presidential successes. It is now called the National Rally. Despite his exclusion from the party in 2015, Le Pen's divisive legacy endures, marking decades of French political history and shaping the trajectory of the far-right.

France's ex-Prez Sarkozy stands trial over alleged funding by Gadhafi

Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy's trial started on Monday over alleged illegal financing of his 2007 presidential campaign by the government of then-Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi. Sarkozy, 69, who served as president from 2007 to 2012, did not speak to the press at arrival at the Paris court. He has denied any wrongdoing. The Libyan case, the biggest and possibly most shocking of several scandals involving Sarkozy, is scheduled to run until April 10, with a verdict expected at a later date. Sarkozy faces charges of passive corruption, illegal campaign financing, concealment of embezzlement of public funds and criminal association, punished by up to 10 years in prison. The trial involves 11 other defendants, including three former ministers. Franco-Lebanese businessman Ziad Takieddine, accused of having played the role of intermediary, has fled in Lebanon and is not expected to appear at the Paris court. Sarkozy is looking forward to the hearings with determination, his law

French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle to arrive in India on Jan 4

The French Navy's nuclear-powered aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle and its entire carrier strike group will visit Goa and Kochi from Saturday in what is being seen as a powerful demonstration of growing India-France strategic ties. A carrier battle group or carrier strike group (CSG) is a mega naval fleet comprising an aircraft carrier, accompanied by a large number of destroyers, frigates and other ships. At present, the French CSG is deployed in the Indian Ocean where it is conducting joint training sessions with its regional partners and allies, including India. India has been France's foremost strategic partner since 1998, a French readout said, announcing the CSG's visit to the country. Deployed in the Indian Ocean as part of Mission CLEMENCEAU 25, the French carrier strike group, comprising the aircraft carrier Charles De Gaulle, its embarked air fleet and escort vessels (frigates and supply ships), will be making stopovers in Goa and Kochi from January 4, the French embass