Top French court rules major porn sites must check users' ages
The government in March ordered porn sites based in the European Union, but not in France, to check the ages of their visitors based on a French law from 2024, to prevent underage users from accessing them. Pornhub, YouPorn and RedTube, all owned by the same parent company, made themselves unavailable in France in early June in protest.
Hammy Limited, an adult film firm based on Cyprus and the operator of the Xhamster platform, took legal steps against the French decree. The Paris administrative tribunal then suspended it later in June, pending an investigation into whether it was compatible with EU legislation. After the government appealed, the Council of State, the country's top administrative court, said, on Tuesday, that it had annulled that suspension.
"YouPorn and Pornhub hit a wall. Judicial manoeuvrings in order to not protect children don't work," said France's junior digital affairs minister, Clara Chappaz, on X.
5 EU countries to test an age-verification app
In a bid to protect privacy, Arcom, the French watchdog, has recommended operators offer a third-party "double-blind" option that would prevent the platforms from seeing users' identifying information.
Aylo, which reports seven million visitors in France daily across its various platforms, has instead called for governments to require makers of operating systems such as Apple, Microsoft and Google to verify users' ages at the level of individual devices.
The EU Commission said on Monday that five EU countries, including France, would test an app aimed at preventing children from accessing harmful content online. The commission unveiled the prototype of an age-verification app that Denmark, France, Greece, Italy and Spain will customise to launch national versions within several months.
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Euronews
3 hours ago
- Euronews
Fact check: Which European country has the most public holidays?
A debate has erupted in France over whether the country's population works hard enough, after Prime Minister François Bayrou suggested getting rid of two public holidays to boost the economy. "The entire nation needs to work more to produce and for the country's overall activity to be more significant throughout the year, so that France's situation improves," Bayrou said at a press conference on 15 July. "Therefore, I propose that two public holidays be removed for the entire country." The prime minister suggested, for example, getting rid of Easter Monday, as it has "no religious significance" compared to Easter Sunday, and 8 May, which celebrates the end of World War II in Europe. The proposal has sparked a discussion in French media and among social media users about how the country compares to its neighbours when it comes to public holidays, whether the French really do work less than other Europeans, and whether getting rid of public holidays would really help France's ailing economy. Bayrou claims that removing two such days would bring in tax revenues generated from economic activity, contributing to around €44 billion in overall savings. The French National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies, however, has projected a 0.06% boost to the economy, should the prime minister's plan go ahead. Official numbers from European Employment Services (EURES) reveal how many public holidays people in European Union member states, Norway, Iceland, and Switzerland have. Euroverify also examined information from the UK government. When comparing these figures, Cyprus is the clear winner for the number of public holidays, ranking at the top with 15 days. It is followed by Bulgaria, Croatia, Iceland, Malta and Spain, which compete for second place with 14. At the other end of the spectrum, we see Germany, Denmark and the Netherlands with just nine public holidays. However, when the United Kingdom is split into its constituent countries, England and Wales are at the bottom with eight days. Scotland has nine and Northern Ireland has ten. The comparison means that, with 11 public holidays, France ranks fairly average among European countries as things stand, coming in alongside Greece, Hungary, Luxembourg, Slovenia and Sweden. However, getting rid of two days would rank it among the lowest. Holidays can vary by region and even year Nevertheless, in true European fashion, there are various caveats and exceptions to the number of holidays that certain countries have. For example, many countries contain regions that have different numbers of public holidays compared to the national amount. This is the case in Switzerland, where different cantons have different bank holidays, which can reach as high as 15. The French regions of Alsace and Moselle also get two extra days compared to the rest of the country, and the Portuguese islands of Madeira and the Azores have more days off than the mainland. Sometimes the number of public holidays in European countries can vary by year, and some have half days off for some public holidays. This is the case in Iceland, for example, which counts Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve as public holidays after noon. Additionally, while Euroverify has not counted public holidays that consistently fall on a Sunday, such as Easter Sunday, in its ranking, sometimes the way the weekends fall does affect how many days off a country gets. For example, France and other countries effectively lose a bank holiday if it falls on a weekend, whereas the likes of the UK provide "substitute days" in this case. In practice, it means workers will have the following Monday or Tuesday off if a public holiday happens on Saturday or Sunday. Has anywhere in Europe ever scrapped any bank holidays before? Bayrou's proposal to remove two public holidays isn't without precedent in Europe, and this can yield some insight into whether his plan would pay off. Most recently, Slovakia's government decided in June to stop giving 17 November (Day for the Struggle for Freedom and Democracy) as a day off, as part of a broader fiscal strategy not too dissimilar to the French proposals. The day will still be officially recognised, however. In 2023, Denmark abolished its Great Day of Prayer, celebrated on the fourth Friday after Easter, to try and boost labour output and defence spending. Although estimates from the International Monetary Fund said that it only increased the country's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by 0.01-0.06%. Back in 2012, the Portuguese government announced that it would scrap four public holidays the following year as part of an austerity drive off the back of the financial crisis: All Saints Day on 1 November; Corpus Christi, 60 days after Easter; Republic Day on 5 October; and the Restoration of Independence Day on 1 December, celebrating Portugual's indepence from Spanish rule. The days were supposed to be suspended for five years, with those of religious significance having been negotiated with the Vatican. However, in 2016, the newly elected socialist government reinstated all four holidays early, overturning a deeply unpopular measure. It's not all about public holidays Official public holidays are, of course, only one measure of how much time workers in a European country get off. Europe in Motion reported in March that Andorra, Malta and Albania are the countries offering the most statutory annual leave across the continent, with France landing in the top half too. Bulgaria gives the most maternity leave in Europe, on the other hand, and Bulgarian primary school students get the most school summer holidays — 15 weeks — compared to their neighbours.
Euronews
3 hours ago
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Revolut announces 400 new jobs as neobank establishes Paris HQ
Digital bank Revolut is set to create over 400 jobs in Western Europe as it works to build a new headquarters in Paris, the firm told Euronews. The new roles will be created across France, Spain, Ireland, Germany, and Portugal, and will encompass risk management, compliance and other key functions. At least 200 of the roles will be based in France, with the aim of solidifying France as a key operational hub, with more than 1,500 dedicated staff by 2029. Founded in 2015 in London, Revolut began as a fintech offering easy money transfers, currency exchange and a no-fee travel card. The company now has a banking licence in the UK and more than 60 million customers worldwide. As part of their growth plan in Western Europe, Revolut has said it is looking to submit an application for a banking licence in France to further strengthen the position of its new French headquarters. Building a Western Europe hub Following the recent appointment of Béatrice Cossa-Dumurgier as Western Europe CEO, Revolut is launching a major recruitment drive across the region. This comes in addition to its Lithuanian headquarters, which will continue to serve other European markets. Once the French HQ is fully established, the neobank plans to transition some 600 of its existing staff in customer support, credit and product roles. The scale-up will come in stages, with 80 new hires expected in the first year and all 400 in place by 2029. By the end of the decade 1,500 employees will be dedicated to Revolut's French banking entity. Revolut is set to invest around €1 billion in France over the next three years. This commitment shows the company's confidence in not only the regulatory landscape and business environment in Europe but also Paris' status as a rising financial centre and its own future as a fully licensed bank. Speaking on the expansion plans, Cossa-Dumurgier said: 'Western Europe is home to a massive pool of talent, and we intend to make the most of it — attracting top professionals eager to shape the future of banking and build the next generation of financial services.' Since its inception, the company has already grown to a staff of 13,000 globally, and its career appeal is only increasing, with over 1.6 million people applying to join Revolut's workforce in 2024. Revolut founder and CEO Nik Storonsky recently reaffirmed his commitment to a fully flexible working model, allowing employees to choose between working remotely or from the office.
France 24
4 hours ago
- France 24
ECB expected to hold rates as Trump tariff uncertainty lingers
The 26 members of the ECB's governing council will meet just over a week before an August 1 deadline set by US President Donald Trump for the imposition of his government's punitive tariffs. Trump has threatened to triple a basic tariff on imports from the EU to 30 percent if Brussels does not cut a deal by the end of the month, casting uncertainty over the future of transatlantic trade. But the ECB was expected to hold tight on rates instead of preempting the outcome of negotiations, pausing a series of cuts that goes back to September. The central bank has reduced its benchmark rate a total of eight times since June last year and at each of its last seven meetings, bringing it down to two percent. The rapid reduction in rates has come as eurozone inflation has fallen back towards the ECB's two-percent target from the double-digit highs seen in 2022. In June, eurozone inflation sat exactly on the ECB's target and was forecast by officials at the central bank to even out at two percent for the year. 'More clarity' The ECB would "almost certainly leave interest rates unchanged" at the conclusion of its monetary policy meeting on Thursday, analysts from Italian bank UniCredit said in a note. "The central bank will now want to have more clarity on the trade outlook before it considers adjusting its policy further," they said. Despite the murky outlook, the ECB was in a "good place" to deal with what comes next, executive board member Isabel Schnabel told financial news service Econostream Media this month. And with the euro area economy showing some signs of life despite Trump's threats on tariffs, "the bar for another rate cut is very high", she said. Euro area factory output has grown four months in a row and the bloc's manufacturing PMI -- a survey-based measure of manufacturer's overall health -- rose in June to its highest level since August 2022. The improving picture painted by recent indicators could, however, be shattered were Trump to follow through with additional tariffs on top of steep existing levies on auto manufacturers, steel and aluminium. Euro strength The sabre-rattling from the Oval Office over trade -- and Trump's repeated attacks on the US Federal Reserve's independence -- have otherwise had the impact of weakening the dollar against the euro. Were the euro to rise much further it would make matters "much more complicated", ECB Vice President Luis de Guindos told Bloomberg TV this month. A stronger single currency brought with it the risk of undershooting the ECB's inflation target by making imports cheaper and cooling the economy, while making European exports more expensive. Already, the ECB's forecasts published last month predict inflation to fall to 1.6 percent in 2026, before recovering to two percent the following year. A strong euro meant rate cuts later in the year were a matter of "when and by how much and not if", ING bank analyst Carsten Brzeski said. The question would get "more attention" at forthcoming ECB gatherings, Brzeski said, but the uncertainty over US tariffs argued in favour a "wait-and-see approach". Trump had upped the threatened level of tariffs on EU exports to the United States since the ECB's last meeting but where they would land after August 1 was uncertain. With the EU locked in talks with Washington to avoid higher tariffs, the necessary "clarity is unlikely to emerge by next Thursday", UniCredit analysts said. A pause was likely before another cut later in the year, perhaps already in September, the first meeting after the summer, they said. © 2025 AFP
