Latest France Headlines
All the headlines from our France Topic Page, ordered by recency.
UK Insurer Aviva Completes Sale of French Business to Aéma for £2.8 Billion
Oct 1 2021 // UK insurer Aviva plc announced the completion of the sale of its French business to Aéma Groupe for £2.8 billion ($3.8 billion) in cash. The transaction was first announced on Feb. 23, 2021. Related: Allianz Completes...
Firefighters Struggle to Control Blazes Fueled by Heatwaves in France and Spain
Aug 17 2021 // Firefighters are struggling to control blazes in France’s Gulf of Saint Tropez and in the Spanish province of Avila, another manifestation of dangerous global warming that’s already caused a long list of...
People Moves: Swiss Re Corporate Solutions Hires AIG’s Blattner-Hoyle to Lead Trade Finance; QBE Names AXA XL’s France as Head of Property, Europe
Aug 10 2021 // This edition of International People Moves covers appointments at two insurers: Swiss Re Corporate Solutions and QBE European Operations. A summary of these new hires follows here. Swiss Re Corporate Solutions Names...
France’s AXA Posts 180% Surge in 1st Half Net Income as XL Unit Swings to Profit
Aug 2 2021 // AXA posted a 180% surge in first-half net income on Monday as the French insurer rebounded from a spike in pandemic-related claims that led to a 1.5 billion euro ($1.8 billion) charge last year. Europe’s...
French Court Refuses to Dismiss Fire Charges Against Buffett-Owned Lubrizol
Jun 30 2021 // A French appeal court on Wednesday rejected a request by chemicals group Lubrizol to have judicial charges over a fire at a plant in Rouen quashed because of alleged irregularities in the investigation, a lawyer for the...
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...
