Tag: France

Friday, January 18th 2019 - 10:01 UTC
EU prepares contingency plans for a UK disorderly departure

French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe has said a no-deal Brexit looks “less and less unlikely” and has launched a contingency plan to prepare for it. After the UK Parliament rejected the withdrawal agreement, Mr Philippe said laws had to be passed and millions invested in French ports and airports.
Friday, January 11th 2019 - 09:06 UTC
Protesting “yellow vests” have vandalized 60% of France's speed camera network

Members of the “yellow vests” protest movement have vandalized almost 60% of France's entire speed camera network, the interior minister has said. Christophe Castaner said the willful damage was a threat to road safety and put lives in danger.
Tuesday, January 8th 2019 - 09:21 UTC
France plans hooligan-type legislation to crackdown “yellow vest” violent protests

France plans to introduce legislation to toughen sanctions on undeclared protests in response to violent “yellow-vest” demonstrations, Prime Minister Edouard Philippe said on Monday in a hardening of the government’s stance on the unrest.
Tuesday, January 8th 2019 - 08:20 UTC
MSC Cruises celebrates the float out of “Grandiosa”; she will be delivered next October

MSC Cruises has celebrated the float out of MSC Grandiosa at the shipyard in Saint-Nazaire, France where the ship is being built. She has now been moved to a wet dock, where work on the ship will continue until her delivery in October 2019.
Friday, December 28th 2018 - 08:27 UTC
French operator purchases majority stake in Gatwick Airport, UK’s second busiest

A majority stake in Gatwick Airport is to be sold to French operator Vinci Airports for £2.9bn. Vinci Airports, part of infrastructure group Vinci, will buy 50.01% of the UK's second-busiest airport. The other 49.99% will be managed by current owners Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP).
Saturday, December 15th 2018 - 09:20 UTC
Euro falls on disappointing French and German economic prospects

The Euro has fallen against the dollar after disappointing French and German economic surveys dismayed the markets. In France, private sector business activity contracted for the first time in two and a half years as the “gilets Jaunes” protests took their toll.
Tuesday, December 11th 2018 - 08:35 UTC
French president yields to weeks of protests and rolls back most reforms

French president Emmanuel Macron has promised a minimum wage rise and tax concessions in response to weeks of violent protests. France has seen four weekends of violent protests against fuel tax rises, living costs and other issues. Speaking in a televised address, Mr. Macron condemned the violence but said the protesters' anger was “deep, and in many ways legitimate”.
Monday, December 10th 2018 - 09:41 UTC
French military join WWF France to combat climate change as a “national security threat”

France’s military has teamed up with an environmental non-profit organization for the first time to study the threat of climate change where the country is at war, a representative of the green group said. So far, WWF France and the Ecole de Guerre, the top French military academy, have been jointly promoting their view that climate change is a national security threat.
Thursday, December 6th 2018 - 08:34 UTC
French government suspends fuel tax, but protests continued across the country

The French government's decision to suspend fuel tax and utility hikes on Tuesday did little to appease protesters, who called the move a “first step” and vowed to fight on after large-scale rioting in Paris last weekend.
Tuesday, December 4th 2018 - 08:28 UTC
Yellow vests' protests reflect widespread anger and challenge to Macron's reforms

Protesters from France's “gilet jaunes” (yellow vests) movement have pulled out of a meeting with PM Edouard Philippe scheduled for Tuesday. Some members of the group said they had received death threats from hard-line protesters warning them not to enter into negotiations with the government.