Latest France Headlines
All the headlines from our France Topic Page, ordered by recency.
France’s AXA Eyes Asia Growth with Takeover Bid
Nov 9 2009 // AXA Asia Pacific rejected a $10.3 billion bid from parent AXA SA and Australian rival AMP Ltd on Monday, an initial hurdle for the French insurer’s bold ambitions to expand in Asia. AXA SA, Europe’s...
Best Affirms Allianz Global Corporate and Specialty ‘A+’ Ratings
Oct 27 2009 // A.M. Best Co. has affirmed the financial strength rating (FSR) of ‘A+’ (Superior) and the issuer credit rating (ICR) of “aa” of Germany’s Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty AG (AGCS...
Ratings Recap: Singapore Re, AGF, Ansvar, White Mountains Re, Oriental, Jupiter
Oct 13 2009 // A.M. Best Co. has affirmed the financial strength rating of ‘A-‘ (Excellent) and the issuer credit rating of “a-” of Singapore Reinsurance Corporation Limited, both with stable outlooks. The ratings...
European Safety Agency Orders More Airbus Speed Sensor Checks
Sep 24 2009 // European safety officials have ordered checks on certain Airbus speed sensors supplied by U.S. manufacturer Goodrich, just weeks after clamping down on similar equipment from France’s Thales. Potentially faulty speed...
Pilots Report Problem with Air France Plane’s Speed Sensors
Jul 29 2009 // An Air France flight from Rome to Paris earlier this month briefly lost its speed readings due to faulty sensors, pilots said on Tuesday, in the latest safety scare involving speed sensors. Several problems with speed...
France Sees Global ‘Airline Blacklist’ Ready Soon
Jul 13 2009 // A global blacklist for unsafe airlines will be set up soon, France’s Transport Minister Dominique Bussereau said on Monday. On Thursday the head of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) had rejected...
Jackson’s Death and Event Cancellation; Max Cap Rejected; Still Searching Air France Crash Cause; Den Dekker is New FERM
Jul 6 2009 // Michael Jackson’s untimely death, barely two weeks before he was to begin a long awaited series of 50 concerts stretching over eight months, has been the world’s top story. It’s also a story in London,...
French Official Says No ‘Black Box’ Signals from Flight 447
Jun 24 2009 // A French official said sounds detected by search teams in the Atlantic depths are not those of Flight 447’s black boxes. The aide to France’s top transport official, Jean-Louis Borloo, said the “black...
Air France Preparing First Payment to Crash Victims’ Families
Jun 19 2009 // Air France will compensate the families of the victims of a June 1 crash in which 228 people died, the company’s chief executive said on Friday. Flight AF 447 from Rio de Janeiro to Paris crashed into the Atlantic...
No Conclusions Yet in Air France Flight 447 Crash Probe
Jun 18 2009 // French investigators said Wednesday more than 400 pieces of Flight 447 have been recovered in a painstaking search in the Atlantic but no conclusions have yet been reached in the probe. “If we had concluded or...
Mystery Surrounds Air France Crash
Jun 15 2009 // Liability Claims to Come Could Exceed $1 Billion, Some Experts Predict The tragic disappearance of Air France flight 447 over the Atlantic early on June 1 remains a mystery. The plane’s 216 passengers and 12 crew...
Air France to Replace Speed Sensors; Searchers Find More Bodies, Debris
Jun 10 2009 // Air France has said all its flights using long-haul Airbus jets will be equipped immediately with new speed sensors after last week’s disaster over the Atlantic, a pilots’ union said Tuesday. The pitot tubes...
Air France Crash Site Found: 17 Bodies, Wreckage Recovered
Jun 8 2009 // Searchers found 15 more bodies from a crashed Air France jet Sunday and retrieved a large amount of debris from the plane that plunged into the Atlantic Ocean in the worst air disaster since 2001. Nearly a week after the...
Air France Jet Likely Broke Apart above Atlantic Ocean
Jun 5 2009 // The last manual message from the pilot of Air France Flight 447 indicated the plane was headed into a storm. Ten minutes later a flurry of automated messages began: The autopilot had disengaged; a key computer system had...
Air France Crash May Remain a Mystery Say Investigators
Jun 3 2009 // French officials said on Wednesday they might never discover why an Air France aircraft crashed into the Atlantic, killing 228 people, and that they might not even find the plane’s black boxes on the ocean...
High Seas Search Continues for Air France Plane with 228 Aboard
Jun 2 2009 // Search planes scoured the dark waters of the Atlantic Ocean early Tuesday, looking for the remains of an Air France jetliner that disappeared in a severe storm with 228 people on board. The Airbus A330 went missing on a...
UPDATE: Air France Rio-Paris Flight Missing over Atlantic after Storm
Jun 1 2009 // An Air France plane with 228 people on board disappeared over the Atlantic Ocean on its way from Brazil to Paris on Monday after hitting strong turbulence and French officials said they feared a disaster. The Brazilian air...
France, Germany Urge More Flexible Climate Pact
May 26 2009 // France and Germany suggested on Monday that rich nations should collectively guarantee deep cuts in greenhouse gases by 2020 while giving flexibility to laggards such as the United States to catch up later. France said the...
French Commandos Free Yacht from Pirates, 1 Hostage Dies
Apr 13 2009 // Navy commandos stormed a French sailboat held by pirates off the Somali coast in an assault triggered by threats that the passengers would be executed. But one hostage was killed in the operation, demonstrating the risks...
G20 Seals $1.1 Trillion Deal
Apr 3 2009 // World leaders clinched a $1.1 trillion deal on Thursday to combat the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression and said financial rules would be tightened to stop it happening again. U.S. President Barack Obama...
