PARIS (AP) – The Latest on yellow vest protests in France (all times local): 5:45 p.m. French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe is vowing to “severely punish” the radicals responsible for rioting and setting fires around one of France’s richest neighbourhoods. Philippe visited the Champs-Elysees on Saturday to show his support for riot police and firefighters […]
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There Really Is a French Exception
ImageCreditIan Langsdon/EPA, via Shutterstock PARIS — Nowhere else have the hardships of a vast segment of the population turned into a social movement like this — one that refuses to bear the brunt of economic liberalization, points out real inequalities, is active over large swathes of the country, is resolutely modern in its use of […]
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Why France Is Losing the War on Anti-Semitism
In the first weeks of 2019, French authorities discovered 96 tombs desecrated in a Jewish cemetery in eastern France, the word “juden” scrawled across a bagel shop in Paris, and swastikas marring a street portrait of former government official and Auschwitz survivor, Simone Veil. On February 16 in Paris, a […]
Read MoreGoogle Pay expands to more banks in France, Germany, Hong Kong, Italy, Japan, Russia, and Slovakia
Google Pay’s international expansion is improving. Although not at the same rate as its US bank and credit union support, the mobile payment service keeps steadily adding more institutions and card options for its users around the world. So if you live somewhere where Pay has already launched but your bank wasn’t supported before, take […]
Read MoreFrance: Yellow Vests March Against Macron for 17th Weekend Straight
PARIS (AP) – Hundreds of protesters from France’s yellow vest movement marched Saturday for a 17th straight weekend in Paris and other cities to maintain pressure on the government to reverse policies they see as favouring the rich. Women, some carrying pink balloons, led the calm and orderly Paris march, advocating for equal rights and […]
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Socialism and the 2020 American Election
Two of my children were born in socialist France. They survived. In fact, their births were great experiences: excellent medical care, wonderful postnatal follow-up, near-zero cost. My son’s bris, in a Paris deserted through the August exodus, was another story, but I won’t get into that. France has one of […]
Read MoreYouTube Music comes to Google Home in many more countries (Europe, Japan, Canada)
As the story goes, Google isn’t particularly good at making its own services and apps work together. Take YouTube Music for example. It took months for the streaming service to be available on Android Auto and as an alarm provider in the Clock app, and it still isn’t integrated in Google Maps the way Spotify […]
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Rescue a Refugee: Get Charged With Trafficking?
The case was sensational. Two young volunteers stood accusedof masterminding a massive smuggling operation on the Greek island of Lesvos,innocently disguised as a search-and-rescue NGO. One, Sarah Mardini, was already famous. She and her sisterfled Syria in 2015, and when their dinghy’s motor failed on the sea crossing toGreece, the […]
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Are France and Germany Breaking Up?
BERLIN — Times are rough for the European Union. The news coming from Britain grows more depressing every day. Italy is governed by a maverick government searching for an open confrontation with France. Hungary and Poland are slowly slipping into authoritarianism. And we are headed for a European election in […]
Read MoreCosta Rican measles outbreak traced to unvaccinated French tourists
Costa Rica had been measles-free for five years, until Feb 18, when visiting French tourists took their unvaccinated five-year-old son to a doctor to investigate a “rash” that turned out to be measles — the boy’s mother was also unvaccinated. The boy’s French classmates have also experienced a measles outbreak. It’s not clear […]
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Carlos Ghosn Faces Japanese ‘Justice’
Until last Nov. 19, Carlos Ghosn was the stuff of legend — a citizen of Brazil, Lebanon and France who created a global car-making empire uniting Nissan, Mitsubishi and Renault and who regularly appeared on television and in glossy magazines. Since Nov. 19, Mr. Ghosn has been locked up in […]
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French Court Fines UBS $4.2 Billion for Helping Clients Evade Taxes
PARIS — Boxes at the Paris Opera. Prime seats at the French Open. Luxury hunting retreats in Normandy. The financial giant UBS spared no expense in enticing wealthy French people to open bank accounts in Switzerland. The lavish spending caught up with UBS on Wednesday, when French judges ordered it […]
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Few Are Inspired to Follow America’s Lead on Iran
Nearly 30 years ago, the United States used its diplomatic clout to persuade Israel and its Arab neighbors to meet publicly for the first time, at the 1991 Madrid Peace Conference, which opened the door to greater Arab acceptance of Israel. On Wednesday and Thursday, leaders of Israel and Arab […]
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The House Finally Acts on Yemen
Congress has long ignored its constitutional war-making responsibilities, evading difficult questions about military engagement and effectively giving presidents a blank check to decide when and how the military should be involved in hostilities. That the House finally took up that duty on Wednesday andvoted to end military support for Saudi […]
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Trump Officials Gather in Warsaw for an Anti-Iran Meeting
WARSAW — Before top officials from 65 nations began meeting in Warsaw at an American-led conference on Middle East security, an unmistakable voice rang out at a rally outside the city’s main stadium, calling for regime change in Iran: the former mayor Rudy Giuliani. Mr. Giuliani contended he was there […]
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Paris sues Airbnb for $14 million over illegal advertisements
(Reuters) — The City of Paris is suing Airbnb for publishing 1,000 illegal rentals adverts, which could cost the American rental website more than 12.5 million euros ($14 million), the mayor of Paris told a newspaper in an interview published on Sunday. Under French law, home owners in Paris can […]
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Week 13 of ‘Yellow Vest’ Protests in France
PARIS — In the 13th straight weekend of “Yellow Vest” demonstrations in France, protesters showed no sign of letting up pressure on the government and did not appear appeased by concessions by President Emmanuel Macron. There were scattered acts of violence as protesters and the police clashed in marches in […]
Read MoreScuffles, Tear Gas as Anti-Macron Yellow Vest Protests Enter 13th Week
PARIS (AP) – Scuffles have broken out between French yellow vest protesters and police in a 13th consecutive weekend of demonstrations. Police fired tear gas in Paris to disperse demonstrators near the Champs-Elysees avenue on Saturday afternoon as scuffles broke out. The protest in the French capital has passed the National Assembly and will end […]
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The Italian Government’s Latest Sport? Bashing France
ImageFlags compete during a Yellow Vests demonstration in December in Ventimiglia, Italy, near the French border.CreditValery Hache/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images White sauce and migration, the fork and the Mona Lisa, a fast train and an African currency — the points of contention are many. Since coming to power eight […]
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France Recalls Ambassador to Italy After Minister Meets ‘Yellow Vest’ Protesters
France recalled its ambassador to Italy on Thursday, an extraordinary diplomatic rupture between longtime European Union and NATO allies, after a series of provocations by Italy’s populist leaders, culminating in a meeting between a top Italian official and leaders of the “Yellow Vest” protests in France. Luigi Di Maio, Italy’s […]
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Apple Agrees to Pay $571 Million to France in Back Taxes
Apple has reached a deal with the tax authorities in France to pay it an undisclosed amount of back-dated tax. While the official amount has not been revealed by either Apple or the French tax division, the French media is estimated the amount to be around 500 million euros ($571 […]
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French regulator orders Google to review search ads policies
(Reuters) — France’s competition regulator on Thursday ordered Alphabet’s Google to review its policies and procedures for blocking certain ads, saying that its actions against French firm Amadeus may have been anti-competitive. Google said it was reviewing the regulator’s order, made in a preliminary injunction. The dominant search engine in […]
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