Latest France Headlines
All the headlines from our France Topic Page, ordered by recency.
French Mutual Insurer Covéa Eyes Purchase of AXA XL’s Reinsurance Business: Reports
Jun 28 2021 // Covéa, the French non-life mutual, is interested in acquiring AXA XL’s reinsurance business, AXA Re, in a deal that could be valued at €5 billion, according to press reports. The news story, which originally...
French Chef Seeks $1.9M from Allianz for Biz Income Losses During COVID Lockdowns
Jun 17 2021 // A French Michelin three-star chef is asking Allianz SE for 1.6 million euros ($1.9 million) in insurance claims for losses suffered by his restaurants during the country’s lockdowns, a person familiar with the matter...
Court Orders IKEA to Pay $1.2M Fine for Spying on French Employees
Jun 17 2021 // PARIS – A French court on Tuesday ordered IKEA to pay a 1 million euro ($1.2 million) fine for spying on its French staff, after the world’s biggest furniture retailer was found guilty of improperly gathering and...
AXA Offers €300M to Settle COVID-19-Related BI Claims for French Restaurant Owners
Jun 10 2021 // AXA has offered a settlement to 15,000 French restaurant owners that purchased non-damage business interruption insurance after previously denying coverage during the 2020 COVID-19 lockdowns. AXA estimates the cost of...
People Moves: Aon’s Bonner to TigerRisk; Trivitt Promoted at AXIS, RSA’s Birre Julvécourt to BHSI in France
Jun 2 2021 // This wrap-up of international People Moves details recent appointments at TigerRisk Partners (which is launching a global trade credit, surety and political risk business); AXIS Insurance, and Berkshire Hathaway Specialty...
French Regulator Dismisses Covéa Market Abuse Charges Filed Against SCOR’s Kessler
May 28 2021 // France’s financial markets regulator dismissed market abuse charges, which had been filed against SCOR’s Chairman and CEO Denis Kessler by the reinsurer’s largest shareholder, Covéa. The investigation...
Airbus, Air France Could Face Charges of Manslaughter over Deadly Crash in 2009
May 13 2021 // Airbus SE and Air France-KLM could face charges of involuntary manslaughter over the deadly crash of a Paris-bound plane off the Brazilian coast over a decade ago. The Paris appeals court ruled Wednesday that the case...
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...
