Latest France Headlines

All the headlines from our France Topic Page, ordered by recency.

James Saft: EU Must Choose Its Lies Wisely

Dec 15 2010 // You can lie to taxpayers or you can lie to creditors, European authorities are learning, but doing both at the same time is very hard.The proposed policy that current senior creditors to troubled states will not face...

Northern Europe Counts Costs of Early Winter Weather

Dec 2 2010 // Heavy snow caused travel chaos across much of northern Europe on Thursday, keeping London’s Gatwick airport closed for a second day and disrupting road and rail travel in France, Germany and Switzerland.Days of...

France, Germany Say Euro Saved; Investors Remain Skeptical

Nov 29 2010 // Germany and France declared on Monday that Europe had taken decisive action to save the euro by rescuing Ireland and laying the foundations of a permanent debt resolution system, but investors were not convinced.Under...

Best Affirms Generali’s ‘A+’ Ratings; Outlook Stable

Nov 9 2010 // A.M. Best Europe – Rating Services Limited has affirmed the financial strength rating of ‘A+’ (Superior) and issuer credit rating of “aa-” of Italy’s Assicurazioni Generali S.p.A., both...

French Reinsurer SCOR Group to Back New Lloyd’s Syndicate

Nov 4 2010 // France’s SCOR Group announced that the Lloyd’s Market Franchise Board has given its “in principle” approval to the creation of Syndicate 2015. The “final arrangements and approval” could...

French Retirement Protests Take Violent Turn

Oct 21 2010 // Masked youths clad in black have torched cars, smashed storefronts and thrown up roadblocks, clashing with riot police across France as protests over raising the retirement age to 62 took a radical turn.Hundreds of flights...

Ratings Roundup: Travelers (UK), Tenet, Allianz (France)

Oct 19 2010 // A.M. Best Europe – Rating Services Limited has affirmed the financial strength rating of ‘A (Excellent) and issuer credit rating (ICR) of “a+” of UK-based Travelers Insurance Company Limited (TICL),...

France to Seek G20 Overhaul of Global Monetary System

Oct 8 2010 // France will start talks on overhauling the global monetary system during its G20 presidency to improve policy coordination and stem capital flows distorting exchange rates, Economy Minister Christine Lagarde said...

US State Dept. Warns Americans to be Vigilant When in Europe

Oct 5 2010 // The Obama administration on Sunday warned Americans of potential terrorist threats in Europe and urged them to be vigilant in public places, including tourist spots and transportation hubs.A State Department travel alert...

Best Affirms ‘A++’ Ratings of French Gov’t. Reinsurer Caisse Centrale

Aug 30 2010 // A.M. Best Co. has affirmed the financial strength rating of ‘A++’ (Superior) and issuer credit rating of “aa+” of French government backed reinsurer Caisse Centrale de Réassurance (CCR), both...

Cunningham Lindsey Completes Expansion in Germany, Spain, France

Jul 15 2010 // Claims specialists Cunningham Lindsey Group Limited have completed four strategic acquisitions in Europe. President and CEO Philippe Bès reported that the Group is “ahead of our internal plans in the...

Flash Floods Take 20 Lives in Southern France

Jun 17 2010 // A series of heavy rainstorms has caused rivers and creeks in southern France to rise to unprecedented levels. Flash floods have swept away cars and houses, and directly caused the deaths of at least 20 people, with the...

Torus Names 3 Senior Execs for Professional Lines in France, Germany

Jun 3 2010 // Torus, the global specialty insurer, announced the appointment of Mathieu Borneuf as Head of Management Liability and Jérôme Gillet as Head of Professional Liability. Both men are based in Torus’ new...

EU Faces a Battle in Achieving Closer Economic Union

May 21 2010 // Agreeing on a $1 trillion safety net may prove the easy part of saving the euro now the European Union’s leaders are turning to the divisive issue of tightening economic policy coordination.The European Commission...

Searchers Locate Area of ‘Black Boxes’ from Air France Flight 447 Crash

May 6 2010 // The location of black box recorders from a 2009 Air France crash that killed 228 people has been sharply narrowed down in the Atlantic Ocean, the French air accident investigation authority said on Thursday.France’s...

Relatives of Air France Crash Victims Sue in U.S.

Mar 30 2010 // Relatives of passengers killed in an Air France crash off Brazil have filed nearly two dozen wrongful death lawsuits in Miami against Airbus, alleging that aircraft maker’s A330 crashed because of flaws in the plane...

SCOR’s Preliminary Quake, Storm Loss Estimates Around $130 Million

Mar 18 2010 // French reinsurer SCOR Group announced that based on preliminary estimates, it expects its related costs from the earthquake in Chile and Windstorm Xynthia to be approximately €95 million ($130 million) net pre-tax,...

AIR Estimates Windstorm Xynthia Insured Losses at $2 to $4.1 Billion

Mar 3 2010 // Catastrophe risk modeling firm AIR Worldwide has estimated that insured losses in France, Belgium, Germany, and Netherlands from winter storm Xynthia will be between €1.5 billion and €3 billion [$2 to $4.1...

Windstorm Xynthia Leaves a Trail of Destruction; RMS Analysis

Mar 2 2010 // Windstorm Xynthia, which swept across Western Europe on Saturday and Sunday, [See IJ web site – https://www.insurancejournal.com/news/international/2010/03/01/107736.htm] left a lot of damage in its wake. The storm...

Celent Releases Report on French Insurance Industry

Feb 26 2010 // Boston-based consulting firm Celent (a part of Oliver Wyman) has been assessing the “subtle but important differences in how insurers from various countries” respond to the issues facing the industry. It has...