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French Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne attends the questions to the government session at the National Assembly in Paris, France, November 22, 2023. REUTERS/Sarah Meyssonnier/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsPARIS, Nov 29 (Reuters) - France's prime minister asked her cabinet to stop using widespread instant messaging apps like WhatsApp, Signal or Telegram and install widely unknown Olvid, a product of Paris's start-up scene presenting itself as a more secure alternative. In a ministerial circular, Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne urged ministers and their top staff to deploy the Olvid app on phones and computers, her office told Reuters on Wednesday, confirming French media reports. Messaging apps like Meta's WhatsApp, Telegram and Signal have increasingly become the go-to tool of communication in the inner circles of French politics, and government officials also use the apps when talking to journalists. President Emmanuel Macron is said to be an avid user of messaging apps himself.

Persons: Elisabeth Borne, Sarah Meyssonnier, Emmanuel Macron, Olvid, Tassilo Hummel, Josie Kao Organizations: French, National Assembly, REUTERS, Rights, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Paris, France, French

☆ Terrorism, cyber attacks main Paris 2024 threats as security plan finalised
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-23 | by ( Julien Pretot | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

"For the opening ceremony, there is a specific protocol with the state and the Paris City Hall. We're confident that we're on track, that we will reach our goals," Paris 2024 Security director Bruno Le Ray told reporters on Thursday. "The first risk is the terrorist risk. We've integrated it, unfortunately, in all security plans," said Thomas Collomb, security executive director for Paris 2024. We will be talking about it (the Paris opening ceremony) for decades," she added.

Persons: Christian Hartmann, Bruno Le Ray, Thomas Collomb, Le Ray, Brittany Jacobs, Jacobs, Julien Pretot, Ken Ferris Organizations: IOC, Paris, REUTERS, Rights, Olympics, Paris City Hall, Games, France's, American Public University System, Reuters, Atlanta Olympic, Thomson Locations: Paris, France, Azerbaijan, Europe, Atlanta

☆ Soaring hotel prices, crackdown on illegal renting to hit Paris 2024 experience
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-20 | by ( Julien Pretot | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/Stephane Mahe/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsPARIS, Nov 20 (Reuters) - Visitors heading to Paris for next year's Olympics face major accommodation problems amid soaring hotel prices and a crackdown on rentals of tourist apartments. A report by the Paris tourism office showed that hotel prices would rise by a whopping 314% between the 2023 and 2024 summers. The report also hit out at the Paris hotels for waiting too long to open their booking platforms for the July 26 - Aug. 11 Games. According to the Paris Tourism office, a hotel night in the Paris region was 169 euros in July 2023, and it is expected to soar up to 699 euros in July 2024. "At the London Games, the prices were too high and the occupation rate of hotels went 12% down.

Persons: Guy Degrenne, Stephane Mahe, Frederic Hocquard, Hocquard, Jacques Baudrier, Baudrier, Bruno Le Maire, Julien Pretot, Pritha Sarkar Organizations: Paris, Paralympic Games, ArcelorMittal, REUTERS, Rights, Reuters, Paris Tourism, London Games, French Finance, Thomson Locations: Vire, France, Paris, Nantes, Lille, Rennes

Snowballs of Paris 2024 Olympics and a miniature of the Eiffel Tower are displayed at the official store during the Paralympic Day at Place de la Republique, Paris, France October 8, 2023. "If we don't have commitments at the beginning of 2024, then in January, February, March, April, we will take action," CGT union representative Celine Verzeletti told Reuters. The French government and the Paris 2024 organising committee did not immediately reply to a Reuters request for comment. France's Alliance police union this week gave the government a Dec. 31 deadline to respond to its demands. State-owned transport operator RATP has also started talks with workers, offering daily extra payments of 15 euros, according to French media reports.

Persons: Sarah Meyssonnier, Celine Verzeletti, Stanislas Guerini, Verzeletti, Emmanuel Macron's, David Leyraud, Tassilo Hummel, Toby Davis Organizations: Eiffel, Republique, REUTERS, Rights, CGT, Reuters, Labour, Games, Paris, France's Alliance police, Alliance, France, HP, State, Thomson Locations: Paris, France

☆ As the Olympics loom, Paris's transport grid worries wheelchair users
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-31 | by ( Yiming Woo | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

With Paris streets often clogged by traffic, travelling underground is often much quicker but only 9% of metro stations can be accessed without walking up and down steps. Wheelchair users, however, would need to travel by bus as both metro stations have stairs and no lifts, a test ride carried out by Maille, who was accompanied by a Reuters journalist, showed. In Berlin, 83% of underground stations are accessible for wheelchair users, according to the operator. The company also plans to deploy 250 specially refitted buses that can transport more wheelchair users, he added. But wheelchair activist Maille said this won't help many visitors with their trips between hotels and venues.

Persons: Franck Maille, Stephanie Lecocq, Alexander III, la, Maille, Gregoire de Lasteyrie, Yiming Woo, Tassilo Hummel, Ingrid Melander, Ken Ferris Organizations: APF, Madeleine, REUTERS, Rights, la Chapelle, Wheelchair, Reuters, Transport, Thomson Locations: APF France, Paris, France, London, Berlin

☆ Macron convenes new crisis meeting after worst night of rioting
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-30 | by ( Dominique Vidalon | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin, who had deployed 40,000 officers on Thursday night in a bid to quell a third night of unrest, said on Twitter that police made 667 arrests. Macron will meet with his cabinet at 1100 GMT in Paris, likely cutting short his attendance at a European Union summit in Brussels, his office said. Twelve buses were set on fire and destroyed overnight in a depot in Aubervilliers, in northern Paris. They said they had made 307 arrests in and around the city and that nine police and fire officers had been injured. In Roubaix, in northern France, a fire destroyed the office of the TESSI company and several cars were set on fire.

Persons: Nahel, Emmanuel Macron, Gerald Darmanin, Macron, Elisabeth Borne, Clement Beaune, Laurent, Franck Lienard, didn't, Lienard, Jacques Chirac, Dominique Vidalon, Sudip Kar, Gupta, Jean, Stephane Brosse, Benoit Van Overstraeten, Pascal Rossignol, Elizabeth Pineau, Marc Leras, John Stonestreet Organizations: Firefighters, Twitter, Nationwide, Transport, RMC, Les, Nike, Police, Thomson Locations: Nanterre, Alma, Roubaix, France, Brussels, PARIS, Marseille, Lyon, Pau, Toulouse, Lille, Paris, Algerian, Aubervilliers, NANTERRE, Paris's, Rue, Rivoli, France's, Le Vieux, Clichy

Strikes have rolled through France, Portugal, Britain and Germany in recent weeks and could cause air travel disruption in parts of Europe through the Easter holidays, officials at airlines, airports and air traffic authorities told Reuters. There's no doubt about it," said Steven Moore, who is in charge of air traffic management operations at Eurocontrol. Airlines say they have to pay compensation without themselves getting compensated for air traffic delays. Consumer groups say air traffic control strikes are not new and airlines should be quicker to react and pay compensation. He called last week on the European Commission to do more to stop such strikes hitting overflights, by introducing minimum service rules, though industry experts say strikes are a national issue.

☆ Paris police 'very vigilant' ahead of new round of pension protests
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] A protester walks his dog wearing a CGT labour union vest during a demonstration as part of the tenth day of nationwide strikes and protests against French government's pension reform in Nice, France, March 28, 2023. REUTERS/Eric GaillardPARIS, March 28 (Reuters) - French police are on the lookout for more protesters bent on violence joining marches against planned pension reform, the chief of police in Paris said on Tuesday, hours before a new round of country-wide demonstrations and strikes. Laurent Nunez, president of Paris's Prefecture de Police, told France Inter radio that security agencies believed more people intent on violence could join the protests and police had to be ready. "We are talking about individuals which often are being monitored by intelligence services ... and we are very vigilant about their presence," Nunez said. A total of 13,000 police agents will be deployed during the protests throughout the day, more than ever before, Darmanin said.

☆ 'Let's bring France to a halt': Oil refineries blocked and trains halted by pension reform protests
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-07 | by ( Jenni Reid | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Christophe Archambault | Afp | Getty ImagesStrike action over plans to raise the pension age in France caused widespread disruption on Tuesday, as trains came to a near-standstill, many schools were shut and fuel deliveries were blocked from refineries. Lou Benoist | Afp | Getty ImagesEric Sellini, a representative from the CGT union at TotalEnergies, told Reuters that a strike blocking the Gonfreville refinery in Normandy would run until Thursday. Another at the Donges refinery in western France is set to run until Friday, he added. Sameer Al-doumy | Afp | Getty ImagesThe strikes come as French workers grapple with red-hot inflation, which accelerated unexpectedly in February to hit 6.2% year-on-year. Around two thirds of the public support protests against the pension reforms, according to an Elabe survey.

☆ Messi named FIFA player of 2022, England women rewarded for Euro campaign
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/8] Soccer Football - The Best FIFA Football Awards - Salle Pleyel, Paris, France - February 27, 2023 Paris St Germain's Lionel Messi winner of The Best FIFA Player award 2022 REUTERS/Sarah MeyssonnierPARIS, Feb 27 (Reuters) - Lionel Messi was named FIFA player of the year 2022 on Monday as Argentina scooped all major men's awards after winning a vintage World Cup final last December. "I want to express my thanks to (coach Lionel) Scaloni and my team mates, without them I would not be here," Messi added. It's a dream for any player, very few people can achieve that and I was lucky enough to do so." Spain's Alexia Putellas, who won the Ballon d'Or last year, was named women's player of the year after inspiring Barcelona to a third consecutive national title in 2022. Polish amputee Marcin Oleksy won the Puskas prize for best goal of the year for a spectacular acrobatic volley with Warta Poznan against Stal Rzeszow.

☆ Factbox: Workers vs Macron: What to expect from Thursday's strike
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Two cabin crew unions and a union at Air France (AIRF.PA) called on employees to attend the strike. FINANCEThe banking and financial industry branch of the FO union called on employees to join the strike. The Unsa-Sante union has filed a strike notice from Jan. 10 until Feb. 1, citing the pensions reform specifically. LOGISTICSThe FO union of truck drivers and other logistics workers announced "indefinite" strike action from Jan. 19 to "win the fight" against the reform. REFINERIESThe CGT trade union announced strikes in the refinery sector, where petrol supplies were disrupted last year during weeks of industrial action.

"I am sad and proud at the same time", said Thomas Bregas, a young Franco-Moroccan wrapped in a Morocco flag. Morocco had a shot at becoming the first African nation to reach a World Cup final, but France are now poised to become the first team to retain their World Cup title in 60 years on Sunday. He added that Moroccans had nothing to be ashamed of after an "extraordinary" World Cup journey. In Paris, Police were gearing up for possible skirmishes, after scuffles followed last week's Moroccan quarter-final win over Portugal. Morocco fans in France had been in a celebratory frenzy ever since their team went on its historic World Cup journey, becoming the first African and Arab team to reach the last four in the global showpiece event.

☆ A top art dealer sold a super-rich sheikh $5 million of 'antique' sculptures that had been polished with modern tools and contained plastic, court heard
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-11 | by ( Joshua Zitser | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

A respected British art dealer sold seven "antique" artifacts to a Qatari sheikh in 2014 and 2015. The art dealer, John Eskenazi, has been ordered to repay the Qatari buyer $4.99 million and damages. But a High Court ruling last month found that the artifacts sold by John Eskenazi Limited (JEL) to the super-rich Qatari sheikh between 2014 and 2015 were forgeries. The judge ordered Eskenazi to refund what the sheikh had paid for the fake artworks, plus damages, on November 29. A spokesperson for Eskenazi told the newspaper: "John Eskenazi and his family have suffered years of anguish and anxiety as a result of this litigation.

☆ Climate activists block Champs Elysees to demand better insulation of buildings
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/5] Environmental activists of "Derniere Renovation" (Last Renovation) group hold a banner as they block the traffic on the Champs Elysees avenue near the Arc de Triomphe in Paris to draw attention to environmental issues on housing and building renovation during the energy crisis in France, France, December 8, 2022. REUTERS/Gonzalo FuentesPARIS, Dec 8 (Reuters) - Environmental activists briefly blocked Paris's Champs Elysees avenue on Thursday in protest at what they called the French government's lack of action to counter climate change, notably inadequate levels of insulation in buildings. Some 20 members of "Derniere Renovation" (Final Renovation) sat on the wide boulevard, snarling traffic in both directions for around 10 minutes before being pulled away by police. In a statement, the group called on the government to launch a campaign for better building insulation, which it said could massively cut French carbon emissions. The building industry was willing and able to implement such a plan and "all that is missing is the political will," it said.

☆ US futures rise and Hong Kong stocks jump 5% after China's vaccination move boosts hopes for a zero-COVID pivot
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-29 | by ( George Glover | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Hong Kong stocks soared and US futures rose Tuesday, after logging big losses the previous session. Recent public protests in China over strict zero-COVID curbs threatened to worsen supply chain issues. China said Tuesday it will boost vaccination for elderly citizens, a key step to reopening its economy. US stocks gained in premarket trading, with S&P 500 futures rising 0.11%, Nasdaq futures up 0.27% and Dow Jones Industrial Average futures 0.48% higher. Hong Kong's Hang Seng jumped 5.24% on expectations China could ease its zero-COVID policies, while the mainland Shanghai Composite climbed 2.31%.

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