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☆ French watchdog orders Amazon to pay $3.5 mln in penalties
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

PARIS, Dec 7 (Reuters) - A French watchdog has ordered U.S. e-commerce giant Amazon.com (AMZN.O) to pay 3.3 million euros ($3.5 million) in penalties for failing to modify contractual provisions related to third-party sellers by the deadline it set, the watchdog said on Wednesday. France's DGCCRF consumer fraud watchdog said in a statement Amazon had been ordered to make the changes, aimed at correcting imbalances in contractual terms between Amazon's online marketplace and third-party sellers, by March 22. Amazon had complied with DGCCRF's orders a month later, on April 28, the watchdog said, which led to penalties equivalent to 90,000 euros per day of delay. Amazon said it would appeal against DGCCRF's penalties. "The DGCCRF has acknowledged that the changes we implemented in April are consistent with its injunction," Amazon said in a written statement.

☆ STMicro, Soitec deepen cooperation over fast-growing semiconductor material
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-01 | by ( Mathieu Rosemain | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

PARIS, Dec 1 (Reuters) - French semiconductor materials supplier Soitec (SOIT.PA) and chipmaker STMicroelectronics said on Thursday they were deepening their cooperation over the manufacturing of a key and fast-growing material used in the electric car industry. The material, silicon carbide (SiC), is used to make a growing number of chips that improve the power management of electric vehicles. Under the enhanced cooperation, STMicro, whose biggest clients include EV maker Tesla Inc (TSLA.O), agreed to use Soitec's SiC substrate technology, in the form of a bigger, 200 millimetre wafer which is upcoming, the two companies said in a statement. While not exclusive, the Soitec-STMicro cooperation gives STMicro a time advantage in the adoption of the technology. STMicro is aiming to sell $700 million worth of SiC chips this year and is targeting $1 billion in 2023, it has said.

[1/2] A logo for Amazon Web Services (AWS) is seen at the Collision conference in Toronto, Ontario, Canada June 23, 2022. REUTERS/Chris HelgrenNov 30 (Reuters) - French IT consulting firm Atos (ATOS.PA) is making Amazon.com's (AMZN.O) cloud services division its preferred partner for migrating its clients' workloads to the cloud, it said on Wednesday. The enhanced partnership will allow Amazon Web Services (AWS), the world's number one cloud computing services provider, access to more than 800 of Atos' infrastructures services customers globally and lead to the training of 20,000 employees on AWS' technology at Atos. The AWS-Atos partnership will allow Atos' customers with large infrastructure outsourcing contracts to quicken their workload migrations to the cloud, Atos said in its statement. Atos said it would consult with over 800 customers to offer a new hybrid cloud service with the option to move selected workloads to AWS.

[1/2] Christel Heydemann, CEO of Orange, attends the MEDEF union summer forum "La Rencontre des Entrepreneurs de France, LaREF" at the Paris Longchamp Racecourse in Paris, France, August 30, 2022. 1 telecoms operator Orange (ORAN.PA) said on Wednesday, as the prospect of energy rationing looms amid the war in Ukraine. Executives said at the time there were not enough back-up systems in many European countries to handle widespread power cuts. "The operators put pressure so that we don't cut their antennas, there's a kind of arm wrestling," the source told Reuters. Only a few thousands mobile antennas would be completely shielded from potential power cuts at this stage, a telecoms industry source said, thus covering a fraction of the population and of the territory.

☆ Twitter lacks transparency in misinformation fight -French regulator
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

A spokesperson for Twitter in France did not immediately respond to messages seeking comment. The spokesperson has not responded to queries since Elon Musk's takeover of Twitter last month. Arcom has no power to sanction online platforms for the spread of false information. The 12 online platforms include Alphabet's YouTube, online encyclopaedia Wikipedia, Meta's Facebook and -- for the first time -- the fast-growing short-video platform TikTok, owned by China-based firm ByteDance. French laws also compel large online platforms to provide means to its users to report false information that could alter the potential outcome of an election.

Amazon France said there had been no sign of disruption to operations so far. Two French union officials said they were not expecting a big turnout because the rising cost-of-living was driving employees to seek overtime. "As an employer, Amazon offers great pay, benefits and development opportunities - all in an attractive and safe working environment," a spokesperson for Amazon in Germany said in a statement. [1/6] French CGT union members demonstrate in front of the Amazon logistics center in Bretigny-sur-Orge, near Paris, as part of a global day of actions against Amazon on Black Friday, France, November 25, 2022. Workers at a warehouse in the western city of Koblenz were seen standing outside near a red-and-white banner that read "We're on strike" in German, French and English.

☆ Twitter meets deadline to reply to French regulator's query
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

PARIS, Nov 24 (Reuters) - Twitter has met a Thursday deadline to respond to France's communications regulator about whether the company can meet its legal obligations, a spokesperson for the regulator said. Arcom sent a letter on Monday to Twitter asking if it can meet its legal obligation to guarantee transparent information in spite of steep job cuts at the firm. "Twitter responded to our letter," the spokesperson for Arcom said. "We will analyze their response. Reporting by Mathieu Rosemain Editing by Mark PotterOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Exclusive: Vivendi-Lagardere deal faces full-scale EU antitrust probe - sources
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-22 | by ( Foo Yun Chee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BRUSSELS, Nov 22 (Reuters) - Media group Vivendi's (VIV.PA) proposed acquisition of rival Lagardere is likely to face a full-scale EU antitrust investigation, people close to the matter said on Tuesday. The proposed deal would combine France's two biggest publishing groups, Lagardere's Hachette and Vivendi's Editis, and has come in for criticism from rivals including renowned peer Gallimard. The European Commission is expected to launch an in-depth investigation after finishing its preliminary review of the deal on Nov. 30, the sources said. The EU competition enforcer and Vivendi declined to comment. The mass media holding company already owns 57% of Lagardere after a bid for all of the group's shares.

☆ 'It's over': Twitter France's head quits amid layoffs
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

PARIS, Nov 21 (Reuters) - Twitter Inc's head of French operations, Damien Viel, said he was quitting the social media platform, whose new owner Elon Musk recently fired top executives and enforced steep job cuts at the company. "It's over," Viel tweeted on Sunday, thanking his team in France, which he led for the last seven years. loadingViel confirmed he was leaving Twitter in a separate message to Reuters. Twitter has had a bumpy ride since Musk, the world's richest person, took charge. It has cut staff by half, while Musk has raised the possibility of the social media platform going bankrupt.

☆ France demands Twitter ensure it can preserve 'safe environment'
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/3] A view of the Twitter logo at its corporate headquarters in San Francisco, California, U.S. November 18, 2022. "Arcom would like to express its deep concern about the direct consequences of such decisions on Twitter's ability to maintain a safe environment for its users," Arcom president Roch-Olivier Maistre said in a letter to Twitter, published by Arcom. The regulator said that Twitter is one of the widely used online platforms in France, which raises systemic issues regarding democratic debate and public safety. "In this respect, Twitter is subject in particular to obligations, which Arcom is responsible for ensuring are properly applied," the regulator said. It said it wanted Twitter to respond by Nov. 24 at the latest.

☆ Atos in talks to sell Italian unit to Lutech
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-17 | by ( Joyce Lee | Soo-Hyang Choi | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

PARIS, Nov 17 (Reuters) - Atos (ATOS.PA), under pressure from investors to boost profitability and its share price, said on Thursday it had entered into exclusive negotiations with Italian engineering company Lutech to sell its Italian unit for cash. The proposed transaction accounts for 2% of the group's total revenue in 2021, Atos said in a statement. The deal would be part of a 700 million euro asset sale programme Atos is undertaking to finance its turnaround plan, which entails splitting the group in two separate entities. Atos has already sold its remaining stake in French payments services company Worldline (WLN.PA) for 220 million euros. With the expected sale of the Italian unit, two thirds of the asset sales would be completed, Atos said.

PARIS/STOCKHOLM, Nov 4 (Reuters) - Telecom operators are pushing the European Union to implement new laws that would make Big Tech pay for network costs, following Australia's example, according to four sources close to the matter. "GSMA is coordinating a proposal that speaks to Big Tech contribution to European infrastructure investment," said John Giusti, GSMA's chief regulatory officer, without elaborating on the content of the proposal. Google, Facebook, Netflix, Amazon did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Australia's recently-adopted laws in its own spat with Google and Facebook have emerged as the most-favoured weapon for telecoms operators in their dispute with Big Tech companies, the sources said. The rules, first aimed at compelling tech giants to pay for news content online, allow an Australian government-appointed arbitrator to set fees if Big Tech companies and news publishers fail to find a common ground over copyright.

☆ 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.

☆ Chipmaker STMicro sees sales growth slowdown in fourth quarter
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-27 | by ( Mathieu Rosemain | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Bigger rival Texas Instruments Inc (TXN.O) earlier this week that it expected demand across most of its end markets to decline, while South Korea's SK Hynix Inc (000660.KS) warned of an "unprecedented deterioration" in memory chip demand. STMicro said it expected fourth-quarter sales to edge up by 1.8% from the previous quarter to about $4.4 billion. Co-controlled by the Italian and French governments, STMicro said demand rose across all its products in the third quarter, beating market expectations. Net revenue in the third quarter rose to $4.32 billion, above the company's own guidance and the $4.24 billion analyst consensus compiled by Visible Alpha. Reporting by Mathieu Rosemain; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman, Subhranshu Sahu and Simon Cameron-MooreOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Atos sees strong sales continuing in fourth quarter
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-26 | by ( Mathieu Rosemain | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The group, whose stock price has tumbled 80% over the last 12 months, said it expected the positive momentum to continue in the fourth quarter, in part because some bookings were delayed. Atos' management said it expected a significant improvement in this indicator in the fourth quarter. "We've had delays in major contracts that will materialize in the fourth quarter," co-chief executive officer Philippe Oliva told reporters in a call. Atos also said the split-up plan, which includes spinning off and combining its most lucrative assets such as cybersecurity division BDS, was on track, with completion expected in second half of 2023. ($1 = 1.0045 euros)Reporting by Mathieu Rosemain; Editing by Jacqueline Wong and Mark PotterOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Telecoms group Orange says Spain returned to growth in Q3, confirms targets
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-25 | by ( Mathieu Rosemain | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterThe group confirmed its full-year targets, including a growth in core operating profit between 2.5% and 3%. Sales in Spain, Orange's second-biggest market, returned to growth for the first time since the first quarter of 2019, gaining 0.2% in the third quarter, in contrast with analysts' expectations of a fall of 2.8% over the period. Group revenues for the three-month period ending on Sept. 30 rose by 1% on comparable basis to 10.8 billion euros, slightly above expectations. Orange will lay out its next strategic plan when it reports full-year results on Feb. 16 next year. ($1 = 1.0129 euros)Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by Mathieu Rosemain; Editing by Sudip Kar-Gupta, Kirsten DonovanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Jean-Luc Melenchon, leader of French far-left opposition party La France Insoumise (France Unbowed), and leader of the New Ecologic and Social People's Union (NUPES), takes part in a protest against soaring inflation and what they call a lack of government action to fight climate change, in Paris, France October 16, 2022. REUTERS/Stephane MahePARIS, Oct 16 (Reuters) - Thousands of people took to the streets of Paris on Sunday to protest against soaring prices as weeks of strikes for higher wages at oil refineries spurred demands for a general strike. The leader of hard-left party La France Insoumise (France Unbowed), Jean-Luc Melenchon, marched alongside this year's Nobel Prize winner for Literature, Annie Ernaux. Budget Minister Gabriel Attal said the left-wing coalition was attempting to exploit the current situation, marked by ongoing strikes at French utility EDF's nuclear plants and at French oil refineries. "Today's march is a march of supporters who want to block the country," he said on French radio station Europe 1.

☆ French government likely to use special powers to pass 2023 budget bill, prime minister says
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

PARIS, Oct 16 (Reuters) - The French government is set to pass the 2023 budget bill using special constitutional powers that would allow it to bypass a vote in parliament, Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne said on Sunday. The government will likely use the procedure, under article 49.3 of the constitution, Borne said in an interview on French TV channel TF1, without specifying a date but ruling out its use on Monday. "We will probably have to use the 49.3, but... it won't be tomorrow." Opposition parties would be likely respond with a motion of no confidence, which would likely fail but would nonetheless be damaging as the government seeks to build bridges for a planned pension reform. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by Mathieu Rosemain; editing by John StonestreetOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ EDF says strike hits a third of French nuclear plants, delaying maintenance work
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Companies Electricite de France SA FollowPARIS, Oct 15 (Reuters) - Strike action over wage demands was hitting a third of EDF's 18 French nuclear plants as of Friday night, a spokesperson for the utility said, further delaying the maintenance of its reactors. "Six sites (were) affected by strikes as of last night," the spokesperson said on Saturday. This led to the postponement of the restart date of five reactors currently under maintenance by "one to several days", the spokesperson for EDF (EDF.PA) added. A representative for France's FNME trade union said on Friday that maintenance work at nine nuclear reactors split between five sites had been delayed due to a strike over wages. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by Mathieu Rosemain; Editing by Kirsten DonovanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ CGT union votes to continue strike at TotalEnergies' French refineries
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

PARIS, Oct 15 (Reuters) - The CGT union at the centre of a weeks-long strike at French oil major TotalEnergies (TTEF.PA) voted on Saturday to continue the walkout, CGT union representative Fabien Cros said. Despite the government requisitioning key refinery staff to get petrol flowing again, nearly a third of gas stations still have supply problems. read moreRegister now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by Mathieu Rosemain; Editing by Kirsten DonovanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Eutelsat sees OneWeb merger boosting yearly sales to $2 bln by 2027
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SummarySummary Companies Q1 sales fall by 4.5% on like-for-like basisSees tie-up with OneWeb boosting yearly sales, profitsConfirms full-year targetsPARIS, Oct 12 (Reuters) - Eutelsat Communications (ETL.PA), the world's third-biggest satellite operator by revenue, said on Wednesday it expected its planned tie-up with Britain's OneWeb to boost annual sales to 2 billion euros ($1.95 billion) by 2027. The French group expects annual sales to amount to about 1.2 billion euros in 2023, following the finalisation of the deal. The group's first-quarter sales fell by 4.5% on a like-for-like basis to 287 million euros, it said on Wednesday. It said the decline in sales matched its own targets and it confirmed its full-year targets, including an annual adjusted discretionary free cash flow of 420 million euros. ($1 = 1.0283 euros)Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by Mathieu Rosemain; Edited by Benoit Van Overstraeten and Andrew HeavensOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Orange says all options on table after report on plans to sell online banking unit
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Oct 12 (Reuters) - Orange (ORAN.PA) is considering "all opportunities" for its online banking arm following a report by French paper Les Echos on Wednesday that said France's biggest telecoms company was planning to sell Orange Bank. "In a very highly competitive environment in the banking market, Orange is considering all opportunities to develop Orange Bank's activities and support its growth," a spokesperson for the group told Reuters. Orange was willing to give up control of its loss-making subsidiary, according to media reports last year, with BNP Paribas (BNPP.PA) seen at the time as the leading candidate among French lenders. Citing sources, Les Echos said the telecom operator had mandated investment bank Lazard to launch a new sale or alliance scenario, which Orange declined to confirm. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by Mathieu Rosemain, writing by Juliette Portala, editing by Tassilo Hummel, Kirsten DonovanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Europe has nearly half a million telecom towers and most of them have battery backups that last around 30 minutes to run the mobile antennas. Swedish telecom regulator PTS is working with telecom operators and other government agencies to find solutions, it said. The telecom operators are also working with national governments to check if plans are in place to maintain critical services. Deutsche Telekom (DTEGn.DE) will use mobile emergency power systems which mainly rely on diesel in the event of prolonged power failures, it said. France has about 62,000 mobile towers, and the industry will not be able to equip all antennas with new batteries, the FFT's president Liza Bellulo said.

☆ French telecoms tycoon Niel ventures into crowded payment sector
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-27 | by ( Mathieu Rosemain | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Xavier Niel, founder of French broadband Internet provider Iliad, arrives for a hearing on the concentration of media ownership in the country, at the French Senate in Paris, France, February 18, 2022. REUTERS/Sarah Meyssonnier/File PhotoRegister now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterPARIS, Sept 27 (Reuters) - Xavier Niel, the founder and owner of French telecoms group Iliad, is venturing into the crowded payment sector with the aim of applying the same low-cost formula he used for mobile phone services. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterThe payment sector includes bigger companies such as U.S.-based Stripe and Netherlands-based Adyen (ADYEN.AS), currently valued at about 40 billion euros ($38.50 billion). Iliad's Free Mobile services shook France's mobile market in 2012 with cheaper contracts, unleashing a wave of cut-throat competition whose effects are still be felt today. ($1 = 1.0391 euros)Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by Mathieu Rosemain; editing by Richard LoughOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ France's Deezer pledges to turn a profit by 2025
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-21 | by ( Mathieu Rosemain | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Benoit TessierPARIS, Sept 21 (Reuters) - French music streaming platform Deezer (DEEZR.PA)'s first-half adjusted gross profit rose 9.1% from a year earlier, led by a surge in sales in its home country that firmed up its goal to turn a profit by 2025, the company said on Wednesday. Gross profit increased to 45 million euros ($44.4 million) from 42 million a year earlier, while total sales rose by 12% over the period to 219 million euros, Deezer said in a statement. Deezer's number of direct subscribers in France, where it generates about 60% of its consolidated revenue, rose to 3.3 million from 3 million a year earlier. Yet the total number of subscribers fell by close to 3% to 9.4 million. read moreThe stock has lost 65% of its value since its first trading day, valuing the company at 472 million euros ($466.38 million), compared to Spotify's market capitalisation of $18.7 billion.

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