France Replaces EDF CEO as Business Furor on Power Cost Mounts
The French government said Electricite de France SA Chief Executive Officer Luc Remont is stepping down as the state-owned utility faces increasing complaints from large industrial clients over the cost of electricity.
President Emmanuel Macron is considering appointing Bernard Fontana, the senior executive vice president in charge of the company's Industry and Services unit, as the new Chairman and CEO, the president's office said in a statement Friday.
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2 hours ago
- Yahoo
French Tesla customers sue over brand becoming 'extreme right'
Around 10 French clients with leases on Teslas are suing the US carmaker, run by Elon Musk, because they consider the vehicles to be "extreme-right" symbols, the law firm representing them said on Wednesday. They feel they suffered "direct and concrete" damage from the way Teslas are now associated with "Elon Musk's actions", the GKA law firm said. They are demanding the Paris commercial court order their lease contracts be terminated and legal costs reimbursed, it said in a statement, signed by lawyers Patrick Klugman and Ivan Terel. The lawsuit comes as Tesla sales in the European Union have almost halved since the beginning of the year, a slump attributed to Musk's political activities. Those activities include him -- until last week -- standing firmly with US President Donald Trump, and overseeing efforts to cut down US departments and agencies. He has also lent public support to Germany's far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, and came under criticism for making a repeated gesture with an out-thrust arm interpreted by many historians to be a Nazi salute. "Because of Elon Musk's actions... Tesla branded vehicles have become strong political symbols and now appear to be veritable extreme-right 'totems', to the dismay of those who acquired them with the sole aim of possessing an innovative and ecological vehicle," GKA said in a statement. The perception of the Teslas they leased "prevents them from fully enjoying their car", it said. Most of the leases run for four years, with an option at the end to buy the vehicle. Tesla cars in Europe and elsewhere have been targeted by vandals, with some drivers reporting they have been insulted for using what is sometimes called on social media a "swasti-car". Several owners have taken to putting stickers on their Teslas reading "I bought this before Elon went crazy". "The situation is both unexpected and impossible for French Tesla owners," Klugman told AFP. "Musk's political positions have interrupted enjoyment" of the vehicles, and "we believe that Mr Musk owes these buyers the peaceful possession of the thing sold", he said. Contacted by AFP for comment, Tesla did not immediately respond. tsz/jum/rmb/ach
Yahoo
4 hours ago
- Yahoo
'Applied AI' set to dominate France's Vivatech trade fair
Drawing high-powered tech CEOs and a presidential visit, Paris's Vivatech trade fair opening on Wednesday will spotlight hoped-for economic benefits from AI. The top attraction on the opening day of this year's four-day show will be Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang, looking to make a mark in Europe for the company that builds the most computing hardware for artificial intelligence. President Emmanuel Macron, a regular at Vivatech, will also attend the event at the southern Paris convention centre, the Elysee Palace said, with a walking tour and chats with "French Tech" startups on the agenda. Tech watchers expect more products than ever embedding AI into everyday life to be shown off in the exhibition halls. "What's changed from previous years is that we've moved from AI as science fiction to applied AI," Vivatech managing director Francois Bitouzet told AFP. He trailed around 30 sectors with concrete AI-powered products on show, from luxury to insurance, health, energy, cars, logistics and more. Around 14,000 startups and more than 3,000 investors are expected to travel to Paris from around the world, while organisers forecast total visitor numbers to at least equal last year's 165,000 people. - Nvidia headlining - Nvidia's Huang -- likely sporting his trademark leather jacket -- has top billing with an opening presentation slated to last more than an hour. Bitouzet said it was a "source of pride" to bring aboard semiconductor heavyweight Nvidia, whose high-powered GPUs (graphics processing units) are widely used to power the latest generative AI models. "It proves that the European market in general and the French market in particular are attractive and that today (Nvidia) has ambitions for this market," the Vivatech boss added. EY's European tech, media and telecoms chief Cedric Foray predicted that "there will definitely be announcements targeted at Europe" from Nvidia. The US firm has seen export restrictions slapped on its top-performing chips by both the Joe Biden and Donald Trump administrations, with US politicians leery of ceding their country's lead in generative AI. Huang has warned that China is nevertheless making swift strides to catch up. There was little sign of impact from export restrictions on Nvidia's chip sales in its May earnings release. But the company has warned the braking effect may be larger in the current quarter. - Tech sovereignty - US politics preoccupies many European tech leaders and policymakers too. Concerns range from Trump's mercurial tariff policy to the continent's ability to stand on its own without US giants -- and the massive gap in funding for AI development between the two sides of the Atlantic. "Sovereignty, which wasn't as important in the conversation just a year or two years ago, has become an absolutely strategic priority," Bitouzet said. Macron is expected to again emphasise "European technological sovereignty", the Elysee said. Such remarks from the president would build on his hyping of French and European openness to AI at a Paris global summit in February. Top French firms at Vivatech -- where around half the exhibitors are local companies -- will include Mistral AI, a French competitor to much-bigger OpenAI. Mistral's founder Arthur Mensch is set to discuss AI with Macron and Huang at a roundtable at the end of the first day of the event. mng/tgb/rmb Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
5 hours ago
- Yahoo
British citizens among 9,000 immigrants to be sent to Guantanamo
At least 9,000 undocumented immigrants, including British citizens, are to be sent to Guantanamo Bay detention camp, according to reports in the US. The first transfers are due to start within days, as the Trump administration ramps up its campaign to deport illegal immigrants. In January, Donald Trump announced plans to house 30,000 migrants in the notorious camp on Cuba, which was previously used as a military prison to house combatants captured during George W Bush's 'war on terror' following the September 11 attacks on the US. According to documents seen by Politico, the plan is to hold the migrants at the camp for a short period before deporting them back to their home country. Guantanamo currently holds roughly 500 people. This move represents a further toughening of the administration's immigration policy, which has seen masked snatch squads lifting suspected illegal immigrants off the streets. The official reason for detaining migrants at Guantanamo is to free up space in migrant detention centres in the US itself, especially with the White House setting a target of 3,000 arrests a day. However, critics say the administration believes using Guantanamo will serve as a deterrent for new illegal immigrants and encourage those already in the country to self-deport. An estimated 800 Europeans are on the list of potential Guantanamo detainees, with the Washington Post saying they include British and French citizens. It is a move which has reportedly alarmed European diplomats, given that they have previously co-operated in the repatriation of their own citizens. 'The message is to shock and horrify people, to upset people,' one State Department official told Politico. In Washington, a court is considering a plea to outlaw the use of Guantanamo to house migrants, with the American Civil Liberties Union claiming they are being held in dire conditions in a rodent-infested camp, where detainees are denied a weekly change of clothing and adequate food. In its writ, the ACLU accused the administration of using Guantanamo 'to frighten immigrants, deter future migration, induce self-deportation, and coerce people in detention to give up claims against removal and accept deportation elsewhere'. This was denied by the US Justice Department, which told the court that Guantanamo is being used as a temporary staging post. Previously, nine British citizens were held at Guantanamo, of which five were repatriated in March 2004. A further nine who had residency status in the UK, but not citizenship, were also held at the camp. The State Department confirmed that 'illegal aliens' were being sent to Guantanamo as a temporary measure, but declined to comment on discussions with individual foreign governments regarding their citizens. The Telegraph also approached the Department of Homeland Security for comment. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
