PODCAST: What does it mean to be French and how will France's budget impact you?
Host Ben McPartland is joined by The Local's Emma Pearson, Genevieve Mansfield and John Lichfield to discuss all the latest news.
We start by testing out Le Chat, France's new AI tool, and examine why president Emmanuel Macron is so enamoured of AI technology.
The 2025 Budget is finally approved, with tax hikes for the wealthy and an increase in the eco tax on plane tickets - but perhaps the most controversial element is planned changes to the VAT threshold for micro-entrepreneurs, aka France's 200,000 freelancers, contractors and sole traders.
France has new nominations for UNESCO World Heritage status - including eight castles in south-west France which have a fascinating history and are a little off the usual tourist trail.
A French train passenger has been making headlines after he was fined €150 for using his phone on speaker, so we're taking a look at what the rules are on phone use on French trains, and what else you can be fined for (especially important for the owners of pet snails).
And finally, what does it mean to be French? The prime minister wants a public debate on it, so we're attempting to sum up the concept of Frenchness, with the help of a few famous writers and an emperor.
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Euronews
2 hours ago
- Euronews
Mental health innovations take centre stage at VivaTech Paris
VivaTech opened its doors this Wednesday in Paris, marking the start of Europe's most important tech and startup annual event. With more than 165,000 expected visitors and nearly 14,000 startups from over 50 countries, the ninth edition of the event is set to be the biggest yet. Just like last year, artificial intelligence (AI) is the star of the show. But this time, some of the most attention-grabbing innovations are those applying AI and tech to health care and mental well-being. 'Artificial intelligence is moving from science fiction to real-life application. And visitors will discover with the more than 13,000 start-ups what it is going to mean for business, for our everyday lives and our democracies," said François Bitouzet, Director General of VivaTech. There is a geopolitical context that is incredible in which tech and AI play a role, and we will analyse this during the next four days," he told Euronews. In a year marked by increasing geopolitical tensions and debates around technological sovereignty, Europe is looking to assert itself as a key player in AI innovation. But the tech fair also serves as a platform to explore how this technology can help address deeply human challenges. One such example is Emobot, a French startup developing an AI-powered tool that helps monitor mood disorders through a patient's facial expressions and voice. 'It's an app that is installed on the phone and on the computer. We analyse facial expressions every second while the patient uses their phone throughout the day," explained Antony Perzo, co-founder and CTO of Emobot. "We also analyse their voice. Then, we aggregate this data to monitor for symptoms of depression. All this data, we put it together and then make a dashboard for the doctor that allows them to follow the evolution of the mood disorder symptoms," he told Euronews. All this information is combined to generate a dashboard for doctors, allowing them to track the evolution of symptoms remotely. 'Psychiatry is one of the few disciplines where we can't visualise disorders. In other areas of medicine, we have MRIs or imaging tools. We wanted to create the first device capable of tracking and visualising mood symptoms over time. Think of it as a sort of thermometer for mental health', he said. Another mental health startup, AMOI, blends neuroscience with perfume to shift a person's mood in just minutes. Whether you're looking for focus, calm, energy or joy, AMOI claims its neuro-fragrances can deliver results within five minutes. With more than one in four people reporting feeling mentally unwell, AMOI's founder Pascale Fontaine, says her project is about offering accessible and enjoyable tools for emotional well-being. VivaTech runs until 14 June at the Porte de Versailles exhibition centre in Paris. The European debate on children's access to social media networks has begun, with three EU Member States promoting the idea of a "digital majority" or the age below which it would be forbidden to connect to such platforms. For France, Spain and Greece, the goal is to protect minors from dangerous online content. "Today, in the terms and conditions of use of these platforms, there is already a minimum age of 13," explains Clara Chappaz, the French Minister Delegate for Artificial Intelligence and the Digital Economy. However, Chappaz says: "We've all been children, it's very easy to change your date of birth. And so the current system means that, on average, children are logging on and creating accounts from the age of 7-8." France, Spain and Greece believe that the algorithms used by social networks expose the very young to addictive content that can ultimately lead to increased anxiety or depression. They also argue that excessive exposure may limit the development of certain skills and impair cognitive abilities. The EU currently has legislation in place in the form of the Digital Services Act (DSA), which tackles illegal online content such as hate speech, terrorism and child pornography. The law has been in place for almost two years for larger platforms and search engines, and just over a year for smaller organisations. But for industry representatives in Brussels, new legislation appears premature. "We believe that the new rules must first be properly applied. We haven't yet seen all the effects," says Constantin Gissler, Managing Director of Dot Europe, which represents online services and platforms in Brussels. "I think it's a bit hasty at this stage to be already discussing new rules and I think it's also very important that we take more account of the reality and implications for minors of such a ban," he adds. Paris, Madrid and Athens are also proposing the integration of age verification and parental control systems for devices connected to the Internet. The European Commission is currently working on an age verification application. Last month it published draft guidelines to protect minors, such as measures to verify the age of users or to set children's accounts as private by default. It is also conducting investigations against TikTok, Instagram and Facebook in relation to the protection of minors.
Fashion Network
3 hours ago
- Fashion Network
French Senate approves ‘anti-fast-fashion' bill chiefly targeting Shein, Temu
Louwagie said that the government will notify the European Commission of this bill even before the end of the joint parliamentary committee work that will start soon, and that the government will also work on the decrees regulating the bill's application, and notably define the thresholds that will formally identify an operator as 'ultra-express' or 'ultra-fast-fashion'. Before the vote, the representatives of the various Senate groups spoke to explain their positions on the vote. An opportunity to underline for some the positive amendments made to the bill, and its weaknesses for others. Many senators welcomed the removal of a provision of the 2022 anti-waste law on unsold goods, which allowed ultra-fast-fashion operators to benefit from tax allowances when donating unsold goods to charitable associations. The re-introduction of a blanket ban on advertising for ultra-express fashion operators was also appreciated. 'This law does not prohibit, it protects by defining what is abnormal. It protects our environment and that of our children. It protects the economy and our textile industry. We can be happy we are giving ourselves the means to achieve our goals,' said Nicole Bonnefoy, representing the Socialist, Ecologist and Republican group, adding that 'we welcome the re-introduction of article three, which will form a negotiation basis for requesting an amendment to the European e-commerce directive, so that these restrictive measures can be made to apply to companies based for example in Ireland.' Although the amendments have been approved by the groups, several points still prompted strong reservations. The introduction of the term 'ultra-express fashion' has led to much teeth-gnashing among environmental associations and sustainable fashion brands, which believe that the aim of fencing in all types of fast-fashion practices is no longer being pursued. Jacques Fernique of Ecologist group Solidarité et territoires insisted on this aspect, emphasising that the various laws will not enter into force for many months yet, since they have to be examined again by the European Commission and the joint parliamentary committee, something which won't happen before the autumn. 'Today's vote is a relatively positive step. Shein, Temu and Amazon are pushing to the extreme a business model that destroys local jobs and our city centres' appeal. But both ultra-express fast fashion and fast fashion adopt the same approach, selling transient, low-cost disposable products. This bill is targeting the ultra-fast fashion explosion, but we can't see why the penalties shouldn't potentially apply to everyone.' Fernique is campaigning for provisions that would 'push back against the kind of disposable fashion sold by foreign platforms but also by French and European companies. It's sustainable fashion that we ought to promote, regardless of the nationality of who sells it.' An issue which the majority of senators did not endorse. 'This bill has set a course. It doesn't pretend to solve everything, but it intends to draw boundaries,' said Valente Le Hir, who is affiliated with the Republican group and is the bill's rapporteur in the Senate. She has advocated for the middle ground in various issues, asserting that the Senate wants to draw up a 'stronger bill, not a travesty of it. We have said it's time to limit the excesses of express fashion without penalising those who are working towards greater sustainability in the industry. [The bill] has distinguished, within a poorly understood sector, what constitutes planned overconsumption and what constitutes sustainable innovation. We've clarified the target. We've drawn a clear line between what we want to regulate, ultra-express fast fashion as embodied by platforms like Shein and Temu, and what we want to preserve, in other words affordable, locally rooted fashion that generates jobs in France, that anchors our communities, creates connections and boosts local industry.' After the government will have sent the text over to the European Commission, the latter will have three to four months to comment. And while French MPs and senators will be working within the joint parliamentary committee, the Commission's analysis and observations will play a key role in the bill's final wording and provisions. In the meantime, the lobbying efforts that have been ongoing for months are set to continue.
Fashion Network
3 hours ago
- Fashion Network
Naf Naf: call for tenders issued to find buyers
Naf Naf employees are yet again facing a time of uncertainty. Less than a year after the French womenswear chain changed hands after receivership proceedings, it was again placed in receivership on May 30. A search for buyers has just been triggered by the court in Bobigny, seeking investors wanting to acquire all or part of Naf Naf, which had been bought by its Turkish supplier Migiboy Tekstil in June 2024. According to the call for tenders issued by the court, Naf Naf currently has 588 employees and operates 102 directly owned stores and 11 affiliated ones in France. In addition, it has 90 retail concessions and five stores outside France. The Migi Naf Naf company, which owns the chain, generated revenue of €47.5 million over a nine-month period, from June 2024 to March 2025. The last reported revenue result for Naf Naf was €141 million in fiscal 2022, over 12 months. Potential buyers must put forward their bid by July 2, 2025. A hearing has also been scheduled on July 23, while a six-month monitoring period for Naf Naf is ongoing. Will the chain, which was set up by the Pariente brothers in 1973, attract international interest? In the case of another French womenswear chain, Jennyfer, which went into liquidation in April, potential buyers opted to bid for only a small part of the store fleet (involving approximately 30% of the workforce). Naf Naf's current owners have indicated to the company's employee representatives and the court that they are keen to implement a business continuity plan. Migiboy Tekstil, which kept 90% of the employees when it acquired Naf Naf last year, is the chain's fourth owner in less than a decade. Previously, Naf Naf was the property of French group Vivarte, which sold it to Chinese group La Chapelle in 2018. After filing for receivership in 2020, Naf Naf was then bought by Franco-Turkish group SY International, but had to file for receivership again in 2023.
