Latest France Headlines

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

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...

Ratings Recap: Generali (France), Tokio Marine Pacific, swisspartners

Feb 25 2010 // A.M. Best Co. has affirmed the financial strength rating of ‘A+’ (Superior) and issuer credit ratings (ICR) of “aa-” of Generali Vie and Generali IARD. Best also affirmed the ICR of “a-”...

Cat 4 Tropical Cyclone Oli Strikes French Polynesia; RMS Analysis

Feb 4 2010 // At Noon local time the Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC), estimated that Tropical Storm Oli’s maximum sustained winds had reached approximately 130 mph (210 km/h), which would classify it as a category four...

Concorde Trial Starts in France 10 Years after Crash

Feb 2 2010 // Continental Airlines and five men went on trial on Tuesday for their alleged role in the crash of an Air France Concorde that killed 113 people in 2000 and brought an end to an era of luxury supersonic travel. The...

U.S. Treasury Investigator Says French Regulator Was Open to AIG Talks

Jan 27 2010 // An overseer for the U.S. bailout program said Tuesday that France’s banking regulator was open to further negotiations over possible concessions on payments from bailed out insurer AIG, according to prepared...

‘Fog in Channel’ – The Disconnect between England and France

Dec 4 2009 // The rest of that phrase, from a long ago Times headline, reads “- Continent Cut Off.” It succinctly summarizes the past, present and probably future state of relations between two of Europe’s oldest...

France Tries to Calm Britain’s Angst over Regulation Threats

Dec 3 2009 // France tried to reassure Britain on Thursday that its push for tougher financial regulation in the European Union would not undermine the City of London, saying new rules would not hurt anyone system in...

De La Rochefoucauld to Head Lloyd’s French Office

Nov 23 2009 // Lloyd’s announced the appointment of Guy-Antoine De La Rochefoucauld as the new Country Manager for its French office, effective the 7th of December. The bulletin noted that he “has over 25 years experience in...

Armistice Day Commemorations in Europe Promise ‘Never Again’

Nov 11 2009 // The ceremonies commemorating the end of the First World War, 91 years ago today, took on a special significance this time. They are remarkably uniform throughout Europe. Each of the nations involved in that murderous...