Latest France Headlines

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

As Settlement Nears Concorde May Fly Again

Mar 13 2001 // A spokesman for La Réunion Aèrienne, the group of insurers* which covers Air France confirmed an earlier report Monday that they were close to reaching a settlement with the lawyers for the victims of the Concorde crash...

Concorde May Fly Again, Despite Lawsuits by Grieving Passenger Families

Feb 5 2001 // Last summer’s tragic Concorde crash continues to produce heartache as the lawsuits multiply and negotiations break down. Settlement talks between the lawyers for the victims’ families and Air France and its...

Concorde May Fly Again, Despite Multiplying Lawsuits

Jan 29 2001 // Last summer’s tragic Concorde crash continues to produce heartache as the lawsuits multiply and negotiations break down. Settlement talks between the lawyers for the victims’ families and Air France and its...

French Bank Head To Sue Magazine Over Allegations

Jan 22 2001 // Jean Peyrelevade, the Chairman of French bank Credit Lyonnais, has indicated he will bring a libel action in a French Court against The Economist magazine over allegations that he was aware of irregularities involving the...

“Lothar,” “Martin” and Climate Change Buffet French P/C Insurers

Dec 15 2000 // A report from the French Federation of Insurance Companies, and an analysis of the French non-life sector from Standard & Poor’s both show that lingering problems from last year’s devastating windstorms,...

Concorde Insurers Name Continental in French Lawsuit

Nov 30 2000 // La Réunion Aérienne, the insurance pool with primary coverage for losses resulting from the crash of the Concorde near Paris last July, has officially launched a recovery action against Continental Airlines...

High Winds, Rain Lash U.K., France

Oct 30 2000 // In scenes reminiscent of last years deadly storms winds over 100 mph battered southern England Sunday night, downing trees and ripping the roofs off houses before moving across the channel to northern France with...

First Concorde Lawsuit Filed in U.S.

Oct 2 2000 // Lawyers for the family of one of the German victims of the Concorde crash outside Paris on July 25th have filed a lawsuit in Federal District Court in Miami Florida seeking damages from Air France and other companies...

Air France, Insurers Sue Continental

Sep 28 2000 // Air France and La Réunion Aérienne (LRA), the consortium of insurers that covered the Concorde, that crashed outside of Paris on July 25th, killing all aboard, have filed suit in a French Commercial Court against...

French Investigators Issue Preliminary Report on Concorde Crash

Sep 1 2000 // A preliminary report, issued by the Bureau Enquete Accidents (BEA) of the French Ministry of Transport, which is investigating the crash of an Air France Concorde on takeoff from Charles de Gaulle airport on July 25th,...

Air France Insurers Handling Concorde Claims

Aug 18 2000 // Air France representatives repeated the company’s promise to fully indemnify all the families of the victims of the Concorde which crashed on takeoff July 26th killing all 109 people on board and 4 on the...

Air France to Compensate All Concorde Victims

Aug 8 2000 // Air France will compensate relatives of all 113 victims of the Concorde crash, including those who were killed on the ground, Reuters news service reported. The airline’s Deputy Managing Director Philippe Calavia...

Tragic Concorde Crash Could Wrack Up Losses for European Insurers

Aug 7 2000 // Insurers could pay out more than $320 million as a result of the July 25 Air France Concorde crash that killed 113 people, according to the Guardian, a U.K. newspaper.The supersonic jet went down just after taking off from...

Air France Concorde Flights Still Grounded

Aug 2 2000 // Flights on Air France’s five Concorde jets will remain suspended, pending decisions on how to improve the safety of the plane following the July 25 Air France Concorde crash. The supersonic jet went down just after...

Tragic Concorde Crash Could Cost Insurers $350 Million

Jul 26 2000 // Insurers could face up to $350 million in claims from Tuesday’s Air France Concorde crash that claimed the lives of all 109 passengers and crew aboard. European companies are expected to foot most of the...

AGF Launches “OKassurance,” First French On-Line P/C Insurer

Jun 28 2000 // AGF’s announcement that it would launch an on-line p/c insurer, OKassurance, on July 3 validates the promise, made last March, to create France’s first such siteThe third largest French P/C insurer, which is 51...

S&P Affirms Ratings on AXA, Groupama, Royal & Sun

Jun 27 2000 // Standard & Poor’s recently made announcements affirming the credit ratings of the French and U.K. insurers as follows:AXA – The report on France’s AXA Group affirmed its extremely strong financial...

Bancassurance Model is Business as Usual in European Countries

Jun 12 2000 // The passage of the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act marked a watershed in U.S. financial regulation, opening up the banking, insurance and securities sectors to cross-holdings and business combinations after almost 70 years of...

French Insurance Association Ups Storm Loss Estimates

May 31 2000 // Federation Francaise des Societes d’Assurance (FFSA) president Denis Kessler said yesterday that the loss estimates from last winter’s storms, Lothar and Martin, would top 45 billion francs ($6.4 billion)...

France Telecom Set To Acquire Orange

May 30 2000 // After protracted negotiations, France Telecom (FT) and Vodafone AirTouch have agreed to terms for the French telecommunications giant to acquire Orange Plc., the U.K.’s third largest mobile phone provider.Vodafone,...