Page 24 - France

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

France asks for foreign police, military help with Paris Olympics security

France says it has asked 46 countries if they would be willing to supply more than 2,000 police officers to help secure the Paris Olympics this summer, as organizers finalize security planning for the French capital's first Games in a century while on heightened alert against potential attacks. The Interior Ministry said Friday that the request for foreign security assistance was made in January, seeking nearly 2,185 reinforcements. The officers are sought to help with Games security and the spectator experience and to strengthen international cooperation," the ministry said. This is a classic approach of host countries for the organization of major international events, the ministry added. It noted that France sent 200 of its gendarmes to soccer's World Cup in Qatar in 2022 and also welcomed 160 officers from other European security forces for the Rugby World Cup that France hosted last year. Separately, the French Defense Ministry has also asked foreign nations for small numbers

French, Brazilian presidents meet, announce $1.1 bn investment for Amazon

The Brazilian and the French presidents on Tuesday announced a plan to invest 1 billion euros (USD 1.1 billion) in the Amazon, including parts of the rainforest in neighbouring French Guiana. The two countries' governments said in a joint-statement the money will be spread over the next four years to protect the rainforest. It will be a collaboration of state-run Brazilian banks and France's investment agency. Private resources will also be welcomed, Brazil and France said. French President Emmanuel Macron's and his Brazilian counterpart Luiz Incio Lula da Silva are meeting this week to revive the relationship between the countries after years of frictions with former President Jair Bolsonaro, deepen cooperation to protect the rainforest and boost trade. Macron started his three-day visit to Brazil in the Amazon city of Belem, where he met his long-time ally Lula. The French president then took a boat to the Combu island to meet with Indigenous leaders. Both Macron and Lula saw a .

French luxury home decor brands turn their attention to Indian market

Over 30 luxe interior design brands from France showcased their creations to tap a new and growing class of rich Indians

France raises security readiness to highest level after attack in Russia

France's government increased its security alert posture to the highest level Sunday after the deadly attack at a Russian concert hall and the Islamic State's claim of responsibility. French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal announced the decision in a post on X, saying authorities were taking into account the Islamic State's claim of responsibility for the (Moscow) attack and the threats weighing on our country." The announcement came after Presiden t Emmanuel Macron held an emergency security meeting prompted by Friday's attack in a Moscow suburb that killed more than 130 people. The attack was claimed by an affiliate of the Islamic State group. France has repeatedly been hit by deadly Islamic State attacks, including the Bataclan theater massacre in 2015 in which extremists opened fire on concert-goers and held hostages for hours. French troops have also fought against Islamic extremists in the Middle East and Africa. France was already on high security alert ahead of the Paris Olymp

France rejects bill to ratify EU-Canada trade deal, cites farmers' concerns

France's Senate voted overwhelmingly Thursday to reject legislation to ratify a 2017 trade deal between the European Union and Canada that has been criticised by farmers as bringing unfair competition from abroad. The EU-Canada Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement, or CETA, provisionally went into effect in September 2017 after all EU governments agreed to it, but its full implementation requires approval by each national parliament. Thursday's 211-44 vote in the Senate does not necessarily mean that France ultimately will reject ratification. The vote sends the bill back to the powerful National Assembly, which previously has approved it and can move to override the Senate rejection and give final approval to the measure. If the Assembly should reject the legislation during its second vote, that would signal France's failure to ratify and could unravel the EU trade deal. Opposition in the Senate centred on concerns about shielding local farmers from what they consider unfair

Google fined 250 million euro in French clash with news publishers

The French antitrust authority has been seeking to force Big Tech firms to negotiate deals with press publishers for republishing their content

French government says it's being targeted by unusual intense cyberattacks

The French government said Monday that several of its services have been targeted by cyberattacks of unprecedented intensity, and a special crisis centre was activated to restore online services. Prime Minister Gabriel Attal's office said in a statement that the attacks started Sunday night and hit multiple government ministries, without providing details. By Monday afternoon, it said, the impact of the attacks has been reduced for most services and access to government sites restored. A group of hackers called Anonymous Sudan, which is considered by cybersecurity experts as pro-Russia, claimed responsibility for the attacks in online posts. The French prime minister's office and digital safety agency wouldn't comment on the claim, or provide details of what was targeted or what damage might have been caused. A French official said they were denial-of-service attacks, a common type of cyberattack that involves flooding a site with data in order to overwhelm it and knock it ...

To avoid strikes at Olympics, France plans to pay bonuses to civil servants

The French government will offer bonuses to civil servants deployed across the capital during the Olympic and Paralympic Games in a bid to avoid strikes during the events this summer, the country's Minister for Transformation and Public Administration, Stanislas Guerini, said Saturday. Eligible employees will get a bonus ranging from 500 euros ($547) to 1,500 euros ($1,641) in addition to their salaries for working during the Summer Games in Paris and the ensuing Paralympics, Guerini said. He did not provide details on the criteria for the payments. The announcement came after a major French union warned of possible strikes, including at hospitals, during the Paris Olympics, when massive influx of people is expected in the French capital. The social situation in France remains tense, amid recent protests from teachers, police officers and farmers that followed huge demonstrations last year against the rise in retirement age. Last month, employees at the Eiffel Tower shut down one

Women's Day: France inscribes the right to abortion in its constitution

France inscribed the guaranteed right to abortion in its constitution Friday, a powerful message of support for women's rights on International Women's Day. Justice Minister Eric Dupond-Moretti used a 19th-century printing press to seal the amendment in France's constitution at a special public ceremony. Applause filled the Place Vendome. The measure was overwhelmingly approved by French lawmakers earlier this week, and Friday's ceremony means it can now enter into force.