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☆ La Reunion Lifts Red Alert After Cyclone Belal Moves Away
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-16 | by ( Jan. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +1 min

PARIS (Reuters) - The French island of La Reunion lifted a cyclone alert at noon (0800 GMT) on Tuesday, as cyclone Belal that struck the Indian Ocean island a day earlier had moved away and no longer posed a threat, local authorities said. "(The cyclone) no longer represents a danger to our territory," the authorities said, still advising a degree of caution even though weather conditions were improving. The lifting of the red alert means local businesses can restart activities but residents were advised to stay at home if possible. Nurseries would open from Wednesday but schools would remain closed until Monday, the Prefecture of La Reunion said. Almost 130 firefighters, 10 gendarmes and 15 power network specialists were scheduled to arrive to La Reunion from neighbouring Mayotte and from continental France.

Persons: Piotr Lipinski, Ros Russell Organizations: PARIS, La Reunion Locations: La, Prefecture, Mayotte, France

☆ EU clears up to 1.2 bln euros of aid for cloud computing
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

European flags fly outside the European Commission headquarters in Brussels, Belgium September 20, 2023. REUTERS/Yves Herman/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsBRUSSELS, Dec 5 (Reuters) - The European Commission approved on Tuesday up to 1.2 billion euros ($1.30 billion) of state aid for a European cloud computing project to try to boost the involvement of EU business in a field dominated by U.S. companies. Those countries will provide up to 1.2 billion euros in public funding, which in turn is expected to unlock 1.4 billion euros in private investments, the European Commission said. The European cloud technology project features 19 companies, including French companies Atos (ATOS.PA) and Orange (ORAN.PA), Deutsche Telekom (DTEGn.DE) and Germany's SAP (SAPG.DE), Telecom Italia (TLIT.MI) and Telefonica Espana (TEF.MC). The three biggest players in cloud computing are Amazon (AMZN.O), Microsoft (MSFT.O) and Google (GOOGL.O).

Persons: Yves Herman, Didier Reynders, Sudip Kar, Gupta, Piotr Lipinski, Philip Blenkinsop, Barbara Lewis Organizations: European Commission, REUTERS, Rights, U.S, Infrastructure, Services, IPCEI CIS, Union, Deutsche Telekom, SAP, Telecom Italia, Telefonica Espana, Microsoft, Google, Thomson Locations: Brussels, Belgium, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Netherlands, Poland, Spain

☆ 'No Plan B' for Paris Opening Ceremony After Knife Attack -Sports Minister
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-04 | by ( Dec. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +2 min

(Reuters) - There is no "plan B" for the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Summer Games, the French sports minister said on Monday, after a man armed with a knife and hammer killed a German tourist and left two people wounded near the Eiffel Tower on Saturday. "We have no plan B, we have a plan in which there are several sub-plans with a certain number of adjustment variables," Amelie Oudea-Castera told France Inter radio. The 26-year-old suspect, a French national arrested after the attack, had pledged allegiance to Islamic State in a video recorded beforehand, anti-terrorism Prosecutor Jean-Francois Ricard said on Sunday. The attack occurred on the Quai de Grenelle - a spot also included in the plans for the opening ceremony. France has been on high alert since raising its security threshold in October, when a Chechen-origin man with a knife killed a teacher in a school in northern France.

Persons: Amelie Oudea, Castera, Jean, Francois Ricard, Pont, Tony Estanguet, Piotr Lipinski, Tassilo Hummel, Bernadette Baum Organizations: Reuters, Paris, France Inter, Islamic, Games Locations: Islamic State, Grenelle, France, Chechen, Israel

☆ 'No plan B' for Paris opening ceremony after knife attack - sports minister
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Olympic rings to celebrate the IOC official announcement that Paris won the 2024 Olympic bid are seen in front of the Eiffel Tower at the Trocadero square in Paris, France, September 14, 2017. REUTERS/Christian Hartmann/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsDec 4 (Reuters) - There is no "plan B" for the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Summer Games, the French sports minister said on Monday, after a man armed with a knife and hammer killed a German tourist and left two people wounded near the Eiffel Tower on Saturday. "We have no plan B, we have a plan in which there are several sub-plans with a certain number of adjustment variables," Amelie Oudea-Castera told France Inter radio. The attack occurred on the Quai de Grenelle - a spot also included in the plans for the opening ceremony. Reporting by Piotr Lipinski and Tassilo Hummel Editing by Bernadette BaumOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Christian Hartmann, Amelie Oudea, Castera, Jean, Francois Ricard, Pont, Tony Estanguet, Piotr Lipinski, Tassilo Hummel, Bernadette Baum Organizations: IOC, Paris, REUTERS, France Inter, Islamic, Games, Thomson Locations: Paris, France, Islamic State, Grenelle, Chechen, Israel

☆ Wordline shares surge on report Credit Agricole could take stake
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The logo of payments company Worldline is seen at the company headquarters in the financial and business district of La Defense, near Paris, France, October 26, 2023. REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsPARIS, Dec 1 (Reuters) - Shares in Worldline (WLN.PA) surged almost 12% on Friday after a media report said Credit Agricole (CAGR.PA) was considering acquiring a stake in the French payment processing company. Other French financial institutions could also look at playing a role in Worldline's future, Bloomberg added, citing some of the people. Italian payments company Nexi (NEXII.MI) last month confirmed its guidance while the Netherlands' Adyen (ADYEN.AS) reassured the market with its "more realistic" medium-term guidance. Worldline shares have fallen more than 58% this year.

Persons: Gonzalo Fuentes, Piotr Lipinski, Sharon Singleton, Kirsten Donovan Organizations: La Defense, REUTERS, Rights, Bloomberg, Credit, Thomson Locations: La, Paris, France, Worldline, Germany, cybercrime, Netherlands

☆ Europe's new Ariane 6 rocket to launch June 15-July 31, 2024
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Christophe Ena/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsPARIS, Nov 30 (Reuters) - Europe's new Ariane 6 rocket will stage an inaugural flight between June 15 and July 31 in 2024, the European Space Agency said on Thursday. The keenly awaited window for the first test flight came after a test model of the new rocket passed a key long-firing engine test in French Guiana last week. The maiden flight will carry some smaller satellites, including two from NASA, but since it is still considered a test flight, it will not carry "a major payload", ESA added. The ESA will carry out a few additional tests before the launch to make sure the design is "fault tolerant". Aschbacher said last month he hoped to be able to announce a launch window for an inaugural flight to be held in 2024, depending on the results of the engine test.

Persons: Emmanuel Macron, Christophe Ena, Josef Aschbacher, Safran, Vega, Aschbacher, Tim Hepher, Piotr Lipinski, Alex Richardson, Bernadette Baum, Christina Fincher Organizations: Ariane, Rights, European Space Agency, ESA, NASA, ArianeGroup, Airbus, U.S, SpaceX, Soyuz, Thomson Locations: Vernon, France, Guiana, Europe, Russia, Ukraine

☆ French economy contracts in Q3, inflation eases further
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Sarah Meyssonnier/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsPARIS, Nov 30 (Reuters) - The French economy contracted by 0.1% in the third quarter of the year, revised data from the statistics office INSEE showed on Thursday, while November inflation eased more than expected. The inflation was down from 4.5% in October, helped by easing price pressure in energy and in the services sector. Food prices rose 7.6% in November, versus 7.8% in October while the increase in energy prices slowed to 3.1% after seeing an increase of 5.2% last month. Month-on-month, prices declined by 0.2% as falling transportation and energy prices offset a month-on-month rise of food prices, especially fresh produce. Reporting by Piotr Lipinski, Zhifan Liu, Editing by Charlotte Van Campenhout and Gareth JonesOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Sarah Meyssonnier, Bruno Le Maire, Piotr Lipinski, Zhifan Liu, Charlotte Van Campenhout, Gareth Jones Organizations: Carrefour, REUTERS, Rights, Thomson Locations: Montesson, Paris, France, EU

☆ Almost 30 schools closed in Belgium due to bomb alert
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

BRUSSELS, Nov 27 (Reuters) - Numerous Belgian schools in Brussels and the Brabant region will remain closed to pupils on Monday after a late Sunday evening bomb alert, the Wallonie-Bruxelles Enseignement administration body said on its web page. The 27 schools, which the organising authority decided to close "in strict compliance with the precautionary principle", are being inspected by the police with further information expected throughout the day. Reporting by Piotr Lipinski; Editing by Tom HogueOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Piotr Lipinski, Tom Hogue Organizations: Belgian, Thomson Locations: BRUSSELS, Brussels, Brabant, Bruxelles

☆ Almost 400,000 deaths in Europe in 2021 attributable to filthy air -EU report
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Pollution from nitrogen dioxide (NO2), most harmful to people with diabetes, resulted in 52,000 deaths and short-term ozone (O3) exposure led to 22,000 deaths. Including a larger set of European countries outside the EU, there were 389,000 pollutant-related deaths in Europe, the EEA said in its report for 2021, released on Friday. "Air pollutant concentrations in 2021 remained well above the levels recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) in its air quality guidelines," the EEA said in the report. "Reducing air pollution to these guideline levels would prevent a significant number of attributable deaths in EU member states." NO2 and short-term O3 exposure had the biggest impact on deaths in Turkey, Italy and Germany, according to the report.

Persons: Flavio Lo Scalzo, Piotr Lipinski, Susan Fenton Organizations: Allianz, REUTERS, Rights, World Health, European Environment Agency, European Union, World Health Organization, WHO, Thomson Locations: Milan, Italy, Rights BRUSSELS, Europe, PM2.5, Poland, Germany, Iceland, Scandinavia, Estonia, Turkey

☆ Adyen lowers mid-term sales target, aims to slow hiring
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The Adyen logo is seen at the reception desk of the company's headquarters in Amsterdam, Netherlands August 24, 2018. "Overall targets are lowered from previous targets and while likely more realistic, they still look ambitious," Jefferies analysts said in a note. Adyen added it would aim to improve its core profit (EBITDA) margin to above 50% in 2026. This year so far, Adyen has lost about half its market value which currently stands at 21.58 billion euros. It said it would slow down hiring, and that it hired 175 full-time employees over the quarter, which was "substantially below" Jefferies' expectations.

Persons: Eva Plevier, Adyen, France's, Jefferies, Olivier Sorgho, Piotr Lipinski, Elaine Hardcastle, Josie Kao Organizations: REUTERS, Netflix, Spotify, Jefferies, New, Thomson Locations: Amsterdam, Netherlands, New York, U.S

☆ Technip Energies shares plunge after Le Monde report on Russian gas project
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Oct 19 (Reuters) - Technip Energies (TE.PA) shares plummeted on Thursday after French newspaper Le Monde said the oil and gas company may have failed to comply with European Union sanctions against Russia by continuing to supply equipment to a Russian gas project. Technip Energies said in a statement after its shares fell as much as 22% that it had always respected international sanctions and its contractual obligations regarding the Arctic LNG2 project in Russia. "Technip Energies has worked with the relevant authorities and has complied with sanctions gradually imposed by the European Union, the United States and Britain," it said. The equipment delivered by Technip involved two modules for the construction of a liquefaction train worth around 450 million euros, Le Monde said, citing Russian customs records, maritime data and satellite images. "$800 million of market cap came off, it's a very harsh response, and suggests the news scared investors out there," said the analyst, who spoke on condition of anonymity, referring to the Le Monde story.

Persons: Le Monde, Monde, Technip, China's CNPC, Piotr Lipinski, Nathan Vifflin, Benjamin Mallet, Silvia Aloisi, David Evans Organizations: Union, Russia, European Union, Le, Japan, Mitsui & Co, Thomson Locations: Russian, Russia, United States, Britain, Paris, EU, Ukraine, Gdansk

☆ US FDA still not satisfied with Philips recall; stock falls over 9%
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-06 | by ( Tosterling Piotr Lipinski | Piotr Lipinski | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] FILE PHOTO-Dutch technology company Philips' logo is seen at company headquarters in Amsterdam, Netherlands, January 29, 2019. REUTERS/Eva Plevier/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsAMSTERDAM, Oct 6 (Reuters) - The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said it is still not satisfied with how Dutch healthcare technology company Philips (PHG.AS) has handled a major product recall and the company should conduct additional risk testing. It was the latest blow to Philips over the recall of millions of sleep apnea and respiratory devices, which has been ongoing since 2021. Philips lost more than two-thirds of its market valuation in 2021-2022, but has staged a modest recovery in 2023. "The FDA is clearly still not happy with the way the recall is being handled."

Persons: Eva Plevier, Philips, Bernstein, Toby Sterling, Piotr Lipinski, Mark Potter, Jan Harvey Organizations: Philips, REUTERS, Rights, U.S . Food, Drug Administration, FDA, Thomson Locations: Amsterdam, Netherlands, U.S

☆ France's Atos appoints Yves Bernaert as new CEO
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

The logo of Atos is pictured at the Eurosatory international defence and security exhibition in Villepinte, near Paris, France June 13, 2022. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier/File photo Acquire Licensing RightsCompanies Atos SE FollowOct 4 (Reuters) - French IT firm Atos (ATOS.PA) said on Wednesday it appointed Yves Bernaert as its new chief executive officer, effective immediately. Bernaert has served as the CEO Europe for Accenture Technology for the past nine years. In July 2022, Atos named Nourdine Bihmane for the top job as previous CEO Rodolphe Belmer left the company a month earlier after only a half-a-year stint. Bihmane, who was also co-CEO of the group, now becomes its deputy CEO and is still in charge of the Tech Foundations business, Atos said.

Persons: Benoit Tessier, Yves Bernaert, Bernaert, Atos, Bihmane, Rodolphe Belmer, Philippe Oliva, Michal Aleksandrowicz, Piotr Lipinski, Sharon Singleton Organizations: REUTERS, Accenture Technology, Tech Foundations, Digital, Thomson Locations: Villepinte, Paris, France, French, Atos, Gdansk

☆ Europe endures another year of droughts and wildfires
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Last year, heatwaves resulted in over 61,600 heat-related fatalities across 35 European countries and triggered devastating wildfires. Below is a list of the most recent blazes and heat-related warnings issued in Europe. Another broke out on Aug. 20 in the southern Hautes-Alpes region of France, burning at least 140 hectares. It was the biggest blaze the region has faced in the last 20 years, media reported. Portugal's authorities declared some 120 municipalities across Portugal at maximum risk of wildfires due to the heat.

Persons: heatwaves, BRGM, Fernando Clavijo, Dina Kartit, Gaëlle Sheehan, Piotr Lipiński, Ed Osmond Organizations: Spanish National Research Council, ITALY, Thomson Locations: Europe, Sicily, France, Perpignan, Alpes, GREECE, Alexandroupolis, Spain, Greece, Rhodes, Corfu, Italy, Sardinia, Rome, Lazio, PORTUGAL, Portugal, SPAIN Tenerife, Canary, La Palma

FILE PHOTO-A woman walks past a Credit Agricole logo outside a bank office in Reze near Nantes, France, May 12, 2021. The results boosted Credit Agricole SA's (CAGR.PA) stock, which was up by about 5% at 0817 GMT, making it the best performer within France's blue-chip index CAC 40 (.FCHI). Helping the positive sentiment, the investment vehicle of the mutual banks that control Credit Agricole said it would spend 1 billion euros on the bank's shares, further tightening its grip on the lender. The vehicle currently owns 60.2% of Credit Agricole SA and said it had no intention to go beyond 65%. Degroof Petercam has client assets of 71 billion euros, while Indosuez said it had assets under management of 130 billion euros at the end of 2022.

Persons: Stephane Mahe, Degroof, France's, JP Morgan, Degroof Petercam, Indosuez, Xavier Musca, Musca, Mathieu Rosemain, Geert de Clercq, Piotr Lipinski, Ingrid Melander, Augustin Turpin, Alexander Smith Organizations: REUTERS, Agricole, CAC, PARIS, Credit Agricole, Credit Agricole SA, Royal Bank of Canada, Barclays, Credit Agricole's, Indosuez, KBC, Thomson Locations: Reze, Nantes, France, Belgian

☆ Gucci CEO Bizzarri to leave company in September
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

July 18 (Reuters) - Kering (PRTP.PA) managing director Jean-Francois Palus has been appointed to lead star label Gucci after a management reshuffle at the top ranks of the French luxury goods company. Marco Bizzarri, Gucci's president and chief executive since 2015, will leave the company on Sept. 23, the French owner of Italian brand Kering said on Tuesday. As part of the changes, Francesca Bellettini, who has run fast-growing fashion label Yves Saint Laurent since 2013, has been named Kering's deputy CEO in charge of brand development while group finance chief Jean-Marc Duplaix has been named as Kering deputy CEO in charge of operations and finance. “We are building a more robust organisation to fully capture the growth of the global luxury market," Kering Chairman and CEO Francois-Henri Pinault said in a statement Tuesday. Reporting by Piotr Lipinski and Mimosa Spencer Editing by David GoodmanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Jean, Francois Palus, Gucci, Marco Bizzarri, Kering, Francesca Bellettini, Yves Saint Laurent, Marc Duplaix, Francois, Henri Pinault, Piotr Lipinski, Mimosa, David Goodman Organizations: Thomson

☆ Factbox: Europe sees another year of droughts and wildfires
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Last year, heat waves resulted in over 61,600 heat-related fatalities across 35 European countries and triggered devastating wildfires. Below is a list of the most recent blazes and heat-related warnings issued in Europe. **********CROATIAA bushfire near the coastal town of Sibenik quickly spread on July 13, fuelled by strong southerly winds. Emergency services were also dealing with fires on the island of Evia, east of Athens, and Aigio, southwest of Athens. RUSSIAIn central Russia's Urals region, in the small village of Shaidurikha near Yekaterinburg, wildfires spread on July 12 and caused significant damage.

Persons: BRGM, Rhodes, El, Dina Kartit, Gaëlle Sheehan, Piotr Lipiński, Alexandra Hudson, Milla Nissi Organizations: Firefighters, Flames, El Pais, Caldera, SWITZERLAND Swiss, Swiss, TURKEY, Directorate of Forestry, Thomson Locations: Europe, Sicily, CROATIA, Sibenik, Grebastica, FRANCE, Nouvelle, Aquitaine, Occitanie, Grand Est, Bouches, Du, Rhone, Corsica, France, GREECE, Corfu, Evia, Athens, Cyprus, Israel, Italy, ITALY, Calabria, Italian, Rome, Lazio, PORTUGAL Mainland Portugal, May, RUSSIA, Russia's, Shaidurikha, Yekaterinburg, SPAIN, La Palma, Spanish, Spain, Bitsch, Valais, Turkey's, Hatay, Mersin, Canakkale, Turkish

☆ Teleperformance launches 3 bln euro offer for call centre group Majorel
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

April 26 (Reuters) - Shares in Teleperformance (TEPRF.PA) dropped over 14% in early Wednesday trade after the French outsourcing and call centre group said it intends to buy rival Majorel (MAJ.AS) for 3 billion euros ($3.30 billion). The group, which employs more than 420,000 call centre workers worldwide, plans to raise 2.05 billion euros through a highly dilutive capital hike to entirely fund the acquisition. The announcement follows a $4.8 billion merger deal between U.S.-based competitor Concentrix Corp (CNXC.O) and French firm Webhelp in March. Majority shareholders in Majorel, Bertelsmann (BTGGg.F) and Saham, have irrevocably committed to tender their shares, Teleperformance said in a statement. Teleperformance is offering 30 euros per Majorel share, with an option for the latter's shareholders to receive Teleperformance shares at an exchange ratio of 0.1382.

☆ Euronext pulls $5.8 billion offer to buy Allfunds
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( Mathieu Rosemain | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

SummarySummary Companies Euronext withdraws cash and shares bidDue to insufficient synergies, share price decline - sourceEuronext shares jump, but Allfunds shares slumpPARIS, March 1 (Reuters) - Euronext (ENX.PA) has withdrawn its 5.5 billion euro ($5.8 billion) indicative offer to buy fund distribution firm Allfunds (ALLFG.AS), boosting the exchange operator's shares while sending Allfunds' lower. Allfunds subsequently entered into discussions on terms with Euronext but no agreement was reached and discussions have been terminated," Allfunds said on Wednesday, after Euronext withdrew its offer. Allfunds' shares slumped around 13% to 7.21 euros in early trading, while Euronext shares rose around 5%. "Allfunds shares were trading around 7.20 euros before news of Euronext's unsolicited indicative offer became public. But Euronext shares did not respond well, falling by around 10% over the last week.

☆ Air France-KLM orders new Airbus freighter, passenger aircraft
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] An Air France Airbus A350 airplane lands at the Charles-de-Gaulle airport in Roissy, near Paris, France April 2, 2021. REUTERS/Christian Hartmann/File PhotoJan 27 (Reuters) - Air France-KLM (AIRF.PA) has placed a firm order with Airbus (AIR.PA) for four freighter and three passenger aircraft, the Franco-Dutch airline said on Friday, as part of efforts to renew its fleet. They offer a 40% reduction in CO2 emissions compared to Boeing's planes and are less noisy, the airline added. The three additional A350-900 passenger aircraft for Air France, to be based at Paris' main Charles de Gaulle airport, will replace previous generation models. By 2030, Air France-KLM aims to reduce CO2 emissions per passenger/kilometre by 30% compared to 2019 levels.

☆ Thales-Hitachi rail signal deal delayed as UK raises competition concerns
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Dec 9 (Reuters) - Britain's competition watchdog is concerned Japan's Hitachi (6501.T) acquisition of France's Thales (TCFP.PA) railway signalling business may result in higher fares for passengers, it said on Friday. As a result, Thales (TCFP.PA) expects the sale to close in the second half of next year, compared to the previous plan to finalise the deal in early 2023. Britain's principal customer for mainline signalling, Network Rail, is putting in place a tendering process for its next major signalling procurement, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said. A deal between Hitachi and Thales could eliminate a credible competitor from the new tendering process, it said. It said both companies were committed to working with all regulatory bodies to ensure the deal closed as quickly as possible.

☆ EssilorLuxottica signs 10-year licensing agreement with Swarovski
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] A logo of EssilorLuxottica exhibition space is displayed at SILMO in Villepinte, near Paris, France September 24, 2022. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier/File PhotoDec 6 (Reuters) - EssilorLuxottica (ESLX.PA) signed an exclusive licensing agreement with Swarovski Eyewear, the Franco-Italian eyewear maker said on Tuesday. "We have always seen each pair of frames as a piece of art to be worn, which makes Swarovski and its story such a wonderful fit," Francesco Milleri, chairman and CEO of EssilorLuxottica said in a statement, expressing his excitement for the "journey with Swarovski". The agreement, which Swarovski's CEO Alexis Nasard said is in line with the jewels maker's LUXignite strategy, will be effective until the end of 2028, with an automatic renewal option for additional five years. Reporting by Piotr Lipinski in Gdansk, Editing by Louise HeavensOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Gucci's creative director Michele is exiting the brand - WWD
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

PARIS, Nov 23 (Reuters) - Creative director Alessandro Michele is leaving Italian fashion house Gucci, the biggest brand of French luxury group Kering (PRTP.PA), Women's Wear Daily (WWD) reported late on Tuesday. Well-placed sources here say that creative director Alessandro Michele is exiting the brand," WWD said in a report from MilanA statement was expected as early as Wednesday, it added. Both Kering and Gucci declined to comment the WWD report. Gucci has been successfully revamped with a bold new style since Michele took over the top creative role at Gucci in January 2015. Reporting by Dominique Vidalon, Silvia Aloisi and Piotr Lipinski; Editing by Benoit Van OverstraetenOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Telenet in talks with French telco Orange on network access deal
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

PARIS, Nov 3 (Reuters) - Liberty Global's Telenet (TNET.BR) on Thursday said it was in talks with France's No. 1 telecoms company Orange (ORAN.PA) over a potential network access to Walloon cable operator VOO, which Orange plans to acquire. The companies have reached a memorandum of understanding which will structure further negotiations, Telenet said in a statement. The planned purchase - currently under European Union anti-trust review, a source has said - would give Orange control over the cable network in Belgium's French speaking Walloon region and part of the Brussels area. The announced acquisition of 75% in VOO dealt a blow to Orange Belgium's local rival Telenet, which had not been selected to enter into talks.

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