Liberté, Égalité, Technologie! ‘Unloved' Revolut wooed by French
At the Choose France summit in Versailles, the fintech 'chose' France, promising to invest €1 billion in our ancient rival over the next few years and to base its western European headquarters there.
Yes, it still has a Canary Wharf global HQ, but the move is perceived as yet another sign of how France is snapping at Britain's heels as the home for tech in Europe.
Led by quintessentially tech-bro politician President Macron, the Élysée is pouring billions into making France a digital superpower. From AI labs in Paris to
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The Independent
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Vauxhall's new all-electric 800hp sports available for test drive in Gran Turismo 7
British brand Vauxhall is taking its all-electric GSE performance sub-brand to a new level, revealing the radical Corsa GSE Vision Gran Turismo – a fully electric concept car boasting 800hp, a 0-62mph time of just two seconds and a top speed of 199mph. The car, which premieres at the IAA Mobility show in Munich on 8 September, will also have a digital debut in PS5 racing sim Gran Turismo 7 this autumn, in what Vauxhall boldly calls a 'phygital' launch. 'The Vauxhall Corsa GSE Vision Gran Turismo takes the GSE sub-brand to the next level,' said Steve Catlin, managing director at Vauxhall. 'It not only shows what is possible on a small car platform, it also displays a clear view to the future.' At the core of the concept is a dual-motor, all-wheel-drive electric powertrain delivering a combined 800hp and 800Nm of torque. A boost function provides an additional 80hp for up to four seconds to aid overtaking on track. Vauxhall had hinted that the concept has an eye on racing, saying it 'will be very much at home on the racing track and offer a thrilling yet comfortable and safe driving experience'. The concept was created by Vauxhall's design team at the Opel headquarters in Germany, led by Brit Mark Adams, Vauxhall and Opel's Vice-President of Design. Adams has been heading up Vauxhall design for over two decades, and his team was also responsible for Vauxhall/Opel's last show car, the Vauxhall Experimental, which appeared at the Munich Motor Show in 2023. While that car was purely a concept previewing the latest design themes across Vauxhall's model range, this latest concept is taking that on further and could preview a production GSE model that we see sometime in 2026.
The Independent
17 minutes ago
- The Independent
White House just watered down the only concession it can claim Trump won from Putin — Ukraine security
But comments from the White House, European leaders and Russia on Monday and Tuesday make it clear that there's still at least one major gulf that needs bridging. Trump returned to Washington this weekend from Alaska, where the U.S. president met for a summit with Russia's Vladimir Putin that was sharply criticized by his adversaries and a source of real concern for Europe, after which it appeared that the U.S. was on the verge of negotiating away swaths of Ukrainian territory without any input from Kyiv. On Monday, he met with Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky at the White House alongside a cadre of European leaders from Germany, France, the U.K. and elsewhere. An eyebrow-raising scene played out this time in Washington, D.C., as world leaders crowded around the Resolute Desk like schoolchildren and Trump at one point dismissed them for an impromptu call with Putin. Afterwards, the pro-Ukraine delegation was echoing a level of optimism that the White House was eager to echo at a press briefing on Tuesday. Yet, there was one other development that took place over Monday and Tuesday that could keep progress towards a peace agreement elusive. On Tuesday, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed that the Trump administration was wholly opposed to deploying troops to support Ukraine under any circumstances, and was only considering acting as a coordinator for a security agreement between Ukraine and its European neighbors. She couldn't tell reporters where common ground on the issue still existed with Russia — which separately indicated through statements that a European security force in Ukraine was off the table. "U.S. boots will not be on the ground in Ukraine,' Leavitt said on Tuesday. 'But we can certainly help in the coordination, and perhaps provide other means of security guarantees to our European allies.' The erosion of that common ground that Trump's envoy Steve Witkoff eagerly proclaimed had been found in an interview Sunday could present the biggest obstacle to a long-term peace agreement between Ukraine and Russia going forward. On Sunday, the administration's go-to conflict resolution expert was on CNN, telling Jake Tapper that Putin had agreed to allow 'Article 5-like protections' to Ukraine, something he called a 'game-changer' in the path towards a peace deal. 'We got to an agreement that the United States and other European nations could effectively offer Article 5-like language to cover a security guarantee,' Witkoff said. By Tuesday afternoon, it was completely unclear whether that was still a feasible suggestion. Russian officials repeated their objections to NATO forces entering Ukraine under any circumstances. The White House rejected the prospect of U.S. boots on the ground at any point. Yet Zelensky, in his own statements, has made clear that his government will not lay down arms without a concrete arrangement protecting his country's sovereignty and borders from future Russian aggression. He wrote on Saturday on Twitter/X: 'Security must be guaranteed reliably and in the long term, with the involvement of both Europe and the U.S.' It's a demand seen all the more crucial by Kyiv, given that Trump is now talking openly about ceding the Donbas region, part of which is occupied by Ukrainian forces, to Putin as a concession to make a deal. On Tuesday, Leavitt was pressed further to confirm that Vladimir Putin agreed to meet with Volodymyr Zelensky within two weeks, something the Kremlin has not yet stated definitively. Just the development of the two leaders in the same room would present a massive step forward in the Russia-Ukraine peace talks. But Russian officials previously agreed to begin 'direct' talks with Ukraine in May, only for those plans to be abandoned. Kremlin officials seemed to already be moving in that direction on Tuesday, saying that talks needed to begin 'gradually'. "We're going to find out about President Putin in the next couple of weeks," Trump himself told reporters on Tuesday. "It's possible that he doesn't want to make a deal."
The Independent
17 minutes ago
- The Independent
How home sizes are changing in the UK: Are they getting bigger or smaller?
The average floor area of a flat or a detached home in England has shrunk over the past decade. But bungalows, terraced homes and semi-detached properties have typically grown in size between 2013 and 2023, according to according to analysis by Nationwide Building Society. The data was compiled by the building society from the English Housing Survey. Andrew Harvey, Nationwide's senior economist, said: 'Typical property sizes have increased slightly over the last decade. Since 2013, the average floor area has increased from 95.3 square metres to 96.2 square metres. He added: 'The largest increase has been in terraced houses, where the average floor area is 3.6 per cent bigger than in 2013. But the average size of flat, the smallest property type, is now 1.7 per cent smaller than 10 years ago at 60.3 square metres. 'Reflecting the composition of the stock, the owner occupier sector has the highest average floor area at 112 square metres. The average floor area in the private and social rented sectors is smaller at 76 square metres and 65 square metres respectively, due to greater concentration of flats.' Mr Harvey said the total housing stock in England has increased by 2.1 million homes to 25.4 million in 2023. He added: 'Of the total, 16.3 million dwellings are owner occupied, while 4.9 million are privately rented, with the remaining 4.2 million in the social rented sector (local authority or housing association properties).' Here are average floor areas for property types in England in square metres in 2013 followed by 2023 and the percentage change, according to Nationwide Building Society: Flats, 61.4, 60.3, minus 1.7 per cent Bungalow, 77.0, 77.5, 0.6 per cent Terraced, 88.7, 91.9, 3.6 per cent Semi-detached, 96.9, 99.1, 2.2 per cent Detached, 152.9, 151.9, minus 0.6 per cent
