Latest France Headlines
All the headlines from our France Topic Page, ordered by recency.
French Court Clears Continental of Criminal Liability for 2000 Concorde Crash
Nov 30 2012 // Continental Airlines was cleared on Thursday of criminal responsibility for the Concorde crash in Paris in 2000 that killed 113 people, with a French court also absolving a mechanic at the U.S. airline of involuntary...
French Non-Life Sector Resilient, Despite Economic Difficulties: Best Reports
Oct 11 2012 // A new report from A.M. Best notes that the “French insurance market has experienced significant volatility during the past few years, although the non-life sector continues to grow.” The report comments that...
French Fries Spark Apartment Blaze in Maine
Oct 10 2012 // Fire investigators say a woman making a late night snack of french fries sparked a fire in a Pittsfield, Maine, apartment building that left 12 people homeless. The fire, which started last Saturday night, began when a...
XL Group Opens New Insurance Office in Lyon France
Sep 20 2012 // XL Group plc’s insurance operations announced the opening of a new office in Lyon , France and the appointments of Auberi Etienne and Clotilde Bartok to join the team serving middle market companies in France. Both...
Commentary by Gordon Brown:* Europe Risks Going the Way of Japan
Sep 14 2012 // The good news is that Europe is no longer going the way of Greece. The sad news is that it is threatening to go the way of Japan. After years of hesitation punctuated by panic, Europe has finally accepted the compelling...
Moody’s Changes EU Rating Outlook to Negative
Sep 4 2012 // Moody’s Investors Service has changed its outlook on the ‘Aaa’ rating of the European Union to negative, warning it might downgrade the bloc if it decides to cut the ratings on the EU’s four biggest...
Equipment Failure, Training, Inspection Flaws at Fault for Rio-Paris Crash
Jul 6 2012 // Pilot error, defective sensors, inadequate training and insufficient oversight combined to send an Air France passenger plane plunging into the south Atlantic in 2009 in the airline’s worst disaster, French...
Will There Ever Be a United States of Europe?
Jun 6 2012 // From recent news you will have learned that the euro zone crisis continues to be the 700 pound gorilla in the room of the global economy. It’s become increasingly clear that, whatever happens in Greece on June 17,...
Google Wins Copyright Ruling in France
May 29 2012 // A French court ruled that Google is not responsible for filtering content on YouTube, dealing a blow to French broadcaster TF1 which sought damages for copyrighted sports and movies which ended up on the video-sharing...
Tackling Euro Zone Crisis is Top Priority for G8 Leaders
May 18 2012 // Leaders of major industrial economies meet this weekend to try to tackle a full-blown crisis in Europe where fears are growing that Greece could leave the euro zone bloc, threatening the future of the common...
Ratings Recap: Saturn, CCR, Arch (Pref. Shares)
Mar 29 2012 // A.M. Best Europe – Rating Services Limited has assigned a financial strength rating of ‘A-‘ (Excellent) and issuer credit rating of “a-” to Vermont-based Saturn Insurance Inc., and has assigned a...
Jenkins Names French VP of Construction and Real Estate
Mar 9 2012 // Concord, Calif.-based Jenkins Insurance Group named Peter French vice president in its construction and real estate practice. French’s primary focus will encompass commercial, civil and residential construction, as...
Best Assigns ‘A-‘ Ratings to Assurances Mutuelles de France
Feb 22 2012 // A.M. Best Europe – Rating Services Limited has assigned a financial strength rating of ‘A-‘ (Excellent) and issuer credit rating of “a-” to Assurances Mutuelles de France (AM), both with stable...
Best Assigns ‘A-‘ Ratings to Assurances Mutuelles de France
Feb 17 2012 // A.M. Best Europe – Rating Services Limited has assigned a financial strength rating of ‘A-‘ (Excellent) and issuer credit rating of “a-” to Assurances Mutuelles de France, both with stable...
Moody’s Warns May Downgrade Global Banks, Cuts Ratings on Insurers
Feb 16 2012 // Moody’s warned on Thursday it may cut the credit ratings of 17 global and 114 European financial institutions in another sign the impact of the euro zone government debt crisis is spreading throughout the global...
Torus Appoints Rousseau to Develop General Property in France
Feb 6 2012 // Global specialty insurer Torus has appointed Gilles Rousseau as Senior Underwriter, General Property. He is based in Paris and has more than 30 years of underwriting experience, as well as “extensive knowledge of the...
PIP Breast Implant Scandal Exposes Weaknesses in EU Safety Net
Feb 3 2012 // In June 2000, when American medical regulators posted a warning letter on the Internet about problems at a breast-implant maker in southern France, French authorities didn’t pay much attention. A U.S. Food and Drug...
French P/C Insurers’ Outlook Now Stable: Moody’s
Jan 31 2012 // In a new industry outlook published today, Moody’s Investors Service says that it has changed the outlook for the French property and casualty (P/C) sector to stable from negative, reflecting insurers’ smooth...
French Broker Gras Savoye Receives License to Operate in Georgia
Jan 10 2012 // France’s Gras Savoye, which is closely associated with Willis, announced that it has received a license to commence brokerage operations in Georgia (the country – not the state), as part of its initiative to expand...
AXA, Japan Post Top Best’s List of World’s Largest Insurers
Jan 4 2012 // France’s AXA S.A. has again topped the list of the world’s 25 largest insurance companies, based on premiums written, compiled by A.M. Best. The lists, which were compiled both on asset value and on net...
