Monthly Archive - May 2010
May 31, 2010
Motorways in France are among the safest in Europe - but many dual carriageways and local roads are not up to scratch, according to a new report. The study by the European Road Assessment Programme gave 98% of French motorways at least four stars out of five for safety, compared ...
May 28, 2010
A senior minister signalled on Wednesday that France will have to raise its retirement age, a day before unions take to the streets in protests against expected changes to the country's costly pension system. Labour Minister Eric Woerth said after a regular weekly cabinet meeting that France's current retirement age of ...
May 27, 2010
Germany and France have agreed to coordinate efforts to support the euro zone and the single currency and prepare for upcoming summits together, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said through a spokesman on Thursday. The move to bolster cooperation between the European Union's two economic and political heavyweights follows Berlin's unilateral decision ...
May 26, 2010
Dennis Blair stepped down as America's director of national intelligence last Thursday after his call for undercover operations to be halted was ignored. The proposed pact was overruled by Mr Obama who had concerns that France could elect a future president who undermined America foreign policy. When Mr Blair resigned last ...
May 25, 2010
French President Nicolas Sarkozy says he had no "disagreements" with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and backed her call for tougher penalties against eurozone countries that break deficit rules. Sarkozy's show of unity came after a perceived spat between Paris and Berlin and the day before a crucial meeting of European foreign ...
May 24, 2010
Germany and France sought common ground on Thursday after a rift over Berlin's unilateral crackdown on speculators, renewing vows to push the Group of 20 economic powers for a multi-national tax on banks. German Chancellor Angela Merkel also called for a new European rating agency and a co-ordinated exit from stimulus ...
May 21, 2010
Air France-KLM has plunged even further into the red after what its chief executive called the "annus horribilis" of the past financial year. "The global economic crisis had a profound effect on the entire airline industry," said Pierre-Henri Gourgeon as Europe's second-biggest airline by revenue reported a €1.56bn ($1.93bn) net loss ...
May 20, 2010
Banks and bureaux de change in the UK have been banned from giving out €500 notes to customers with immediate effect - putting further pressure on Europe to scrap the note entirely. Anyone trying to buy a large number of euros in the UK will have to use a lower ...
May 19, 2010
Fears over Europe’s economy are set to make property cheaper for foreign buyers if the euro keeps sliding – with some firms hoping for a surge in sales. A €750 billion deal announced this week to halt the debt crisis affecting the eurozone has been greeted with scepticism by currency traders ...
May 18, 2010
French president Nicolas Sarkozy threatened to pull his country out of the euro if other EU countries, especially Germany, did not agree to help rescue debt-laden Greece. The French president made his startling threat at a Brussels summit of EU leaders last Friday, at which the deal to bail out Greece ...
