Latest France Headlines

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

French Court Throws Out Lawsuit for ‘Agent Orange’ Damage During Vietnam War

May 11 2021 // PARIS – A French court on Monday threw out a lawsuit by a French-Vietnamese woman against more than a dozen multinationals that produced and sold a toxic herbicide dubbed “Agent Orange,” used by U.S. troops...

Insurer AXA to Stop Paying for Ransomware Crime Payments in France

May 9 2021 // In an apparent industry first, the global insurance company AXA said Thursday it will stop writing cyber-insurance policies in France that reimburse customers for extortion payments made to ransomware criminals.AXA, among...

French Regulator Urges Insurers, Banks to Speed Climate Change Response

May 5 2021 // French banks and insurers should speed up their response to climate change, France’s banking regulator said on Tuesday, after publishing what it called the world’s first climate-related stress test of...

Up to 40% of Losses from Frost Damage at French Vineyards Are Uninsured

Apr 23 2021 // PARIS – Frost damage to French vineyards this month could reduce wine production by nearly a third compared with recent years, farm office FranceAgriMer said on Thursday, citing initial estimates from wine producers.The...

Watford Holdings Announces Purchase of French P/C Insurer Axeria IARD

Apr 12 2021 // Bermuda-headquartered Watford Holdings Ltd. has completed the purchase of Axeria IARD, a French property and casualty insurance company.Watford has acquired 100% of the capital stock of Axeria IARD from the APRIL Group....

Reporters Without Borders Sues Facebook in France over Hate Speech, False Information

Mar 24 2021 // PARIS – Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has filed a lawsuit against Facebook in France over hate speech and false information, the global media watchdog said in a statement on Tuesday.RSF said that in a lawsuit filed...

France’s AXA Drops German Power Giant RWE as a Client over Large Coal Operations

Mar 12 2021 // AXA SA, France’s biggest insurer, is dropping German energy giant RWE AG as a client in a decision that highlights how taboo the coal business has become.Not even an appeal from RWE Chief Executive Officer Rolf...

French Retailer Sued over Amazon Deforestation Linked to Cattle Raising

Mar 5 2021 // PARIS – Environmental groups and indigenous activists from the Amazon region filed a lawsuit Wednesday in a French court alleging that France-based supermarket chain Groupe Casino is violating human rights and...

French Families Join Class Action After Thousands of COVID Deaths in Nursing Homes

Mar 4 2021 // PARIS – A Paris court [held] a hearing Wednesday in a class-action effort to hold French health authorities and companies accountable after thousands with the virus died in nursing homes, and families were locked out and...

French Privacy Watchdog Probes Massive Leak of Sensitive Health Data

Feb 24 2021 // France’s privacy watchdog said it’s investigating the leak of sensitive health data on half a million people and said the companies involved could face heavy penalties if they don’t come forward with...

UK’s Aviva to Sell French Business for $3.9 Billion, Continuing Core-Market Strategy

Feb 23 2021 // Aviva Plc agreed to sell its French business for 3.2 billion euros ($3.9 billion), the largest deal so far in Chief Executive Officer Amanda Blanc’s push to streamline the UK insurer.The unit was sold to French...

France to Boost Cyber Security Defenses After Attacks

Feb 18 2021 // President Emmanuel Macron announced new investment to bolster France’s cyber security defenses after two hospitals were struck by ransomware and the national security agency linked a large cyber attack spanning three...

Ex-UniCredit CEO Teams Up with France’s Richest Man to Form SPAC for Financial Deals

Feb 17 2021 // PARIS – Former UniCredit boss Jean-Pierre Mustier is teaming up with France’s richest man Bernard Arnault to launch a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) aimed at European financial deals, as a boom in blank...

Macif Seen as Favorite to Buy $3.6B Aviva France; Talks to Sell Italian Unit Advance

Feb 16 2021 // Aviva Plc, the British insurer, is in advanced talks on a sale of its Italian operations as it pushes ahead with about 6 billion euros ($7.3 billion) of divestments, people with knowledge said.The U.K. company is in...

French to Serve as Director of Ohio Insurance Department

Feb 3 2021 // Former Ohio Supreme Court justice Judith L. French has been appointed as the next director of the Ohio Department of Insurance, Interim Director Tynesia Dorsey announced.French’s appointment is effective Feb. 8. In...

French Car Rental Firm’s Credit Insurance Woes Send Warning to Speculators

Jan 21 2021 // A failed attempt to settle debt insurance on a struggling French car-rental company is the latest blow to the $9 trillion market in credit derivatives, but this time the focus is on speculators.Protection buyers who...

Lemonade Launches in France in Its Third European Country

Dec 9 2020 // Lemonade, the New York City-based insurance company powered by artificial intelligence and behavioral economics, has launched in France.The launch marks the third EU country Lemonade has entered, following the...

France Vows to Help Farmers Who Stop Using Glyphosate Weedkiller

Dec 8 2020 // France will give financial aid to farmers who agree to halt use of glyphosate, the farm ministry said on Monday after President Macron said he had failed with efforts to ban use of the weedkiller by 2021.Glyphosate, first...

Aviva in Talks to Sell Units in France, Poland and Italy, CEO Confirms

Nov 30 2020 // Aviva Plc Chief Executive Officer Amanda Blanc confirmed the company was in talks to sell units in France, Poland and Italy as part of her overhaul of the insurance giant.The company is still in the “early stages for...

Europeans Buy Older Cars to Avoid Public Transport During Pandemic

Nov 30 2020 // LONDON/MADRID – Want a cheap used car to nip around town without running the gauntlet of coronavirus on public transport? Welcome to Pandemic Motors, we have just what you need.Across Europe, people are snapping up old...