Page 22 - France

France declares emergency in New Caledonia amid violent protests

The violence, the worst in decades, is the latest flash point in long-running tensions over Paris' role in the archipelago

TotalEnergies will continue to be listed in France: CEO Patrick Pouyanne

Poyanne said the LNG market was 'tense' but would have more supply and, as a result, lower prices by 2027-2030

IndiaSkills competition expects to send 58 entrants to Lyon for world event

Biannual WorldSkills Competition is considered the Olympics of international skilling events

Microsoft pledges $4.3 bn investment at Macron's 'Choose France' summit

Microsoft announced its most substantial commitment yet to France, pledging on Monday to invest 4 billion euros ($4.3 billion) this year to bolster the country's burgeoning artificial intelligence sector. The move is part of a broader effort unveiled during President Emmanuel Macron's pro-business event, Choose France, which aims to attract foreign investment and stimulate economic growth. Microsoft's vice chair and president, Brad Smith, visited the company's French headquarters with Macron. We will build out the computing capacity here in France," Smith said. "We will put this infrastructure to work for everyone in France. The plan includes expanding next-generation Cloud and AI infrastructure and delivering up to 25,000 of the most advanced GPUs, or graphics processing units, to France by the end of 2025. Additionally, Microsoft will launch an AI skilling initiative to train one million French people by the end of 2027, emphasizing the importance of equipping citizens with ...

France gets $16 bn in foreign investments as part of 'Choose France' event

That amount represents an increase from last year's summit, which brought in 13 bn euros

Pfizer, AstraZeneca announce new investments of nearly $1 bn in France

Their investment pledges came as President Emmanuel Macron prepared to kick off on Monday the annual 'Choose France' event aimed at wooing big overseas businesses and investors

Help us avoid a 'new Cold War': China's Xi Jinping to France's Macron

Xi is in Paris on a state visit before heading to Serbia and Hungary in his first trip to the bloc in five years

Expect India to become 2nd largest market for Citroen in 5 years: CEO

French automaker Citroen expects India to become its second biggest market after home country in the next five years, for which it will accelerate network expansion besides introducing new products, company global CEO Thierry Koskas said on Thursday. The company will be incorporating learnings from the past few years of its presence in India to attract more consumers besides looking to rope in a brand ambassador to push the brand's visibility in India. "India is an important market for Citroen and in a few years, it will become the second biggest market for us after our home market France," Koskas told PTI here in an interview. At the moment, India is "probably in the top 10 markets for Citroen, more towards the 10th rather than upwards", he said, adding, "So, there is a lot of room for improvement, but I think it's absolutely possible." Asked by when Citroen expects India to become its second biggest market, he said, "To become the number two, I think it's absolutely doable in the

NPCI, Bank of Namibia ink an agreement to develop UPI-like system

The development follows NPCI's push to take UPI rails international after breaking into other markets such as France, Sri Lanka, Singapore, and Mauritius

Higher consumer spending, investment boost French first quarter growth

Economists broadly expect activity to pick up over the course of the year as lower inflation boost consumers' purchasing power and interest rate cuts fuel an increase in investment

France's Thales may buy parts of strategic assets of troubled Atos Defence

Thales, a defence group partially owned by the French state, has repeatedly said it is not interested in Atos' computing assets known as Big Data & Security (BDS)

Britain, France forge new alliance for Ukraine, eye Nato partners

But the stakes now are high. War continues to rage in Ukraine. The US's hard power commitment remains fallible

Paris Olympics: Policing to include checks for some of city's residents

Special anti-terrorism measures being put in place to safeguard the unprecedented opening ceremony for the Paris Olympics on the River Seine will also apply to all buildings along the route, meaning people who work and live there and their guests will be subjected to background security checks, Paris police chief Laurent Nunez said on Thursday. Those affected will be cross-checked against security services' databases, to see whether they have previously been flagged as suspected Islamist extremists or for other radicalism, Nunez said. The wildly ambitious July 26 ceremony is proving to be a gargantuan security challenge. Athletes will be paraded through the heart of the French capital on 94 boats along a six-kilometre (nearly four-mile) stretch of the Seine, from east to west. They will be accompanied by 87 other boats for security, media and other people. All of the parade route will be inside a high-security zone that Nunez described as an "anti-terrorism perimeter". He said it wi

India, France to launch climate fund for startups in Indo-Pacific countries

Two nations agreed to set up the fund after Prime Minister Narendra Modi travelled to France for Bastille Day celebrations last year

European Union questions TikTok on new app that pays users for watching

European Union regulators said Wednesday they're seeking details from TikTok on a new app from the video sharing platform that pays users to watch videos. The European Commission said it sent TikTok a request for information on the TikTok Lite app that has been quietly released in France and Spain. The commission wants to know about the risk assessment that TikTok should have carried out before deploying the app in the European Union. We have already been in direct contact with the Commission regarding this product and will respond to the request for information," TikTok said in a statement. Such evaluations are required under the bloc's Digital Services Act, a sweeping law that took effect last year with the aim of cleaning up social media platforms. The commission is the 27-nation bloc's executive arm and top enforcer of digital regulations. TikTok Lite lets users "earn great rewards," according to its app store listing. The app, which launched this month in France and Spain, is

Iran attack on Israel risks provoking an uncontrollable escalation, says G7

Unequivocally condemning in the strongest terms Iran's direct and unprecedented attack against Israel, the G-7 leaders on Sunday said the development risks provoking an uncontrollable regional escalation even as permanent members of the UN Security Council announced to convene an emergency meeting on the issues in New York. With its actions, Iran has further stepped toward the destabilisation of the region and risks provoking an uncontrollable regional escalation. This must be avoided. We will continue to work to stabilise the situation and avoid further escalation, G-7 leaders said in a joint statement after a conference call among them initiated by President Joe Biden. The US assisted Israel in shooting down dozens of drones and missiles fired by Iran in its first direct military assault on the former. Israeli authorities said 99 per cent of the inbound weapons were shot down without causing any significant damage. In this spirit, we demand that Iran and its proxies cease their .

After India, Serbia likely to buy Rafale jets in major shift from Russia

Serbia is close to signing a deal on the purchase of 12 French Rafale multi-purpose fighter jets, the Serbian president announced Tuesday, in what would mark a shift from its traditional military supplier Russia. President Aleksandar Vucic spoke during his two-day visit to Paris and talks with French President Emmanuel Macron as well as French defense officials including Rafale manufacturer Dassault Aviation. Vucic said that he had a very good conversation with Macron on Monday night, which lasted more than three hours, and that they reached concrete agreements regarding the purchase of the Rafale fighter jets. He said contracts will be signed in the next two months in Macron's presence, adding that the purchase of the sophisticated jets will drastically widen military and other cooperation between the two states. Financial details of the potential deal have not been announced, but the pro-government Serbian media estimated it at about 3 billion euro ($3.2 billion) for the whole ..

MakeMyTrip expands global reach, now available in over 150 countries

India's online travel firm has expanded its reach to major travel markets like the UK, Germany, Japan, Italy, France, and others

Russian minister warns French counterpart against sending troops to Ukraine

Russia's defence minister warned his French counterpart against deploying troops to Ukraine in a rare phone call Wednesday and noted that Moscow is ready to take part in talks to end the conflict. Sergei Shoigu told French Defense Minister Sbastien Lecornu that if Paris follows up on its statements about the possibility of sending a French military contingent to Ukraine, it will create problems for France itself, according to a statement from the Russian Defence Ministry. It didn't elaborate. The conversation followed French President Emmanuel Macron's comments in February, in which he said that the possibility of Western troops being sent to Ukraine could not be ruled out. The call marked the first such contact between Russian and French defense ministers since October 2022. Shoigu noted Moscow's readiness for dialogue on Ukraine", emphasising that a planned round of peace talks in Geneva would be senseless without Russia's involvement. He added that possible future negotiations .

Will deliver hundreds of armoured vehicles to Ukraine: French minister

French Defence Minister Sbastien Lecornu said France is to deliver hundreds of armoured vehicles by the beginning of next year to Ukraine as part of a new package of military aid for the country that just entered its third year since the Russian invasion. In an interview with the French newspaper La Tribune's Sunday edition, Lecornu said that to hold such an extensive front line, the Ukrainian army needs, for example, our armoured personnel carriers. It's absolutely key for troop mobility. The French military is currently replacing its old VAB armoured personnel carriers that started being used in 1979 by a new generation of armoured vehicles. This old equipment, still operational, is going directly to Ukraine in large quantities. We're talking about hundreds (of vehicles) in 2024 and early 2025, Lecornu said. Lecornu also said France will provide Ukraine with more anti-aircraft missiles. The move comes as France's government is pushing its military industry to boost its production