Latest news with #Alsatian
Yahoo
a day ago
- General
- Yahoo
Alfred Dreyfus, unjustly convicted of treason, gets redemption after 130 years
Antisemitism is (unfortunately) nothing new, but making good on it after more than a century certainly is. People these days may not be familiar with the name Alfred Dreyfus, but the little-known artillery officer's conviction for treason in 1899 still divides French politics. In a surprise move, however, France is making amends for a notorious act of political extremism. In June 2025, French lawmakers unanimously backed a promotion for Alfred Dreyfus. His new rank is brigadier general. France24 called the legislation 'a symbolic step in the fight against antisemitism in modern France.' Late 19th-century relations between Germany and France were surprisingly warm, despite the absolute ass kicking the Germans delivered during the Franco-Prussian War. But that doesn't mean the two sides weren't spying on each other. The French were desperate to get any intelligence they could from the German embassy in Paris. After inserting one of their agents into the embassy housekeeping staff, they acquired a document addressed to the German military attaché, Maximilian von Schwartzkoppen. The paper contained only one piece of sensitive military information: a note about the hydraulic compressed air brakes on a French artillery piece. It prompted France's general staff to look for the source of the leak. War Minister Gen. Auguste Mercier, already criticized in the press for his incompetence, was seeking an easy target on which to pin the blame. Considering the content of the message, he began to scrutinize the artillery officers in the general staff. That's how he stumbled upon Capt. Alfred Dreyfus. There was nothing really extraordinary about Alfred Dreyfus. He was from a well-to-do family in Alsace, which emigrated to Switzerland and then Paris after the Franco-Prussian War in 1871. His experience in the war led him to the elite École Polytechnique military academy. By 1882, he was a respected artillery officer. But he was just the easy target Mercier was looking for. As an Alsatian, he could be portrayed as a German sympathizer. Most importantly, he was Jewish in an antisemitic society looking for a scapegoat. The army claimed the handwriting on the artillery note belonged to Dreyfus (it did not). When he was called in to confess to Mercier, he refused and was arrested for conspiring with the enemy. After a secret, two-day trial, Dreyfus was convicted and his rank was cancelled. He was to be publicly degraded, which meant his medals, epaulettes, sword, and other symbols of his position would be ceremoniously ripped away from him. He was then shipped off to the Devil's Island penal colony in French Guiana. The only problem was that Lt. Col. Georges Picquart, head of French intelligence services, learned who the real spy was: a counterintelligence officer named Maj. Ferdinand Walsin Esterhazy. The French press, which was torn between wild antisemitism and anti-government conspiracies, had a field day with the revelation that Esterhazy was sending letters to the German embassy and that his handwriting matched the original note. Still, despite all the evidence, the army acquitted the real spy, who not only wrote ten years' worth of letters about how much he hated France, but also promptly moved to England and later confessed. Picquart was driven out of the French army for his troubles. Dreyfus was eventually retried and somehow convicted again. After the second conviction, he was offered a pardon if he accepted guilt, an offer he accepted just to end his ordeal. The backlash sparked a culture war from which the French far right never recovered, forever separated church and state in France, and led many Jewish Europeans to believe that only a Jewish state could protect them – the seeds of the Zionist movement were planted. Both trials caught the world's attention, but the story doesn't end there. In 1906, Alfred Dreyfus was reinstated, promoted to major, and served in World War I. He served in artillery supply and fought at the Battle of Verdun. He died in 1935, having retired from the military with the Legion d'Honneur and a Croix de guerre. Despite his later history, the Dreyfus Affair, as it became known, remains a divisive issue in French politics. The act of posthumously promoting him to general is seen as a kind of reparation in a country that houses the largest Jewish population outside of Israel itself.
Yahoo
28-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Bpifrance Acquires a Stake in Arverne Group to Support the Growth of a French Leader in Geothermal Solutions
PAU, France, May 28, 2025--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Regulatory News: Arverne Group (ISIN code : FR001400JWR8, mnemonic code ARVEN), a French industrial company specialized in the production of renewable underground resources, announces that Bpifrance acquires a stake in its capital. Bpifrance acquired 1,709,740 existing Arverne Group shares, representing 4.29% of the share capital and 4.91% of the voting rights, as part of an off-market block sale. This transaction will be accompanied by the appointment of a representative of Bpifrance to the Board of Directors, initially as censor, then as a director, whose appointment will be proposed no later than the first general meeting of Arverne Group shareholders following the combined general meeting of June 18, 2025. Becoming Arverne Group's shareholder is fully in line with Bpifrance's strategy of supporting players in the ecological and energy transition and in the reindustrialisation of France. Convinced of the relevance of its business model, at the heart of the challenges of decarbonisation, energy sovereignty and sovereign supply of critical materials, Bpifrance wishes to support the company in its development. Arverne Group is positioning itself as a major player in the French market for geothermal solutions, by developing two strategic areas: the supply of geothermal heat for its public and private network customers and industrial operators, and an innovative concept for extracting lithium from Alsatian brines, which are rich in this strategic metal for the battery industry. Drilling is the keystone of any activity involving the subsoil, so Arverne Group has developed an integrated model from exploration and drilling to production and sales to end users. As a fast-growing and mission-driven company, the Group's projects contribute to the prosperity of local communities. Pierre Brossollet, Founder and Chairman & CEO of Arverne Group stated : "We are particularly pleased and proud that Bpifrance has become a shareholder in our company. Its commitment to us is a strong endorsement of our vision and strategy. This partnership marks a key stage in Arverne Group's development and will strengthen our ability to deploy our roadmap to reach an annual production capacity of 4 TWh of geothermal heat and 27,000 tons of geothermal lithium by 2031." José Gonzalo, Executive Director, Bpifrance's Development Capital Division, added : "Bpifrance is proud to support Arverne Group in its development, convinced by its strong market potential. This investment is a perfect illustration of Bpifrance's mission: to help innovative players to emerge with sustainable solutions, firmly rooted in the local areas and strategic to France's energy sovereignty and reindustrialisation." Next event: June 18, 2025, Combined General Meeting About Arverne GroupArverne Group specializes in harnessing underground resources to transform them into environmentally friendly, local and renewable energy, contributing to the prosperity of local communities. As an integrated industrial player, Arverne Group spans the entire underground value chain, from exploration to drilling and production to sales to end-users. Arverne Group aims to become the French leader in geothermal energy and its by-products, including low-carbon geothermal lithium. Founded in Pau in 2018, Arverne Group has structured its business activities around several subsidiaries, notably Lithium de France (geothermal heat and extraction and sale of geothermal lithium), 2gré (sale of geothermal heat), Arverne Drilling Services (drilling operations). A mission-driven company, Arverne Group is listed on the Tech Leaders segment of Euronext Paris (ISIN FR001400JWR8, symbol ARVEN). About BpifranceBpifrance's equity investments are operated by Bpifrance Investissement. Bpifrance finances companies - at every stage of their development - through loans, guarantees and equity. Bpifrance supports them in their innovation and international projects. Bpifrance now also supports their export activities through a wide range of products. Advice, universities, networking and acceleration programmes for start-ups, SMEs and ETIs are also part of the services offered to to Bpifrance and its 50 regional offices, entrepreneurs have a single, close and effective contact to help them meet their information : - / - Suivez nous sur LinkedIn : Bpifrance LinkedIn et sur X : @Bpifrance - @BpifrancePresse View source version on Contacts Media Relations: communication@ arvernegroup@ Investor Relations: Bpifrance Sophie 06 30 35 24 71Sophie 07 88 09 28 17 Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Business Wire
28-05-2025
- Business
- Business Wire
Bpifrance Acquires a Stake in Arverne Group to Support the Growth of a French Leader in Geothermal Solutions
PAU, France--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Regulatory News: Arverne Group (ISIN code : FR001400JWR8, mnemonic code ARVEN), a French industrial company specialized in the production of renewable underground resources, announces that Bpifrance acquires a stake in its capital. Bpifrance acquired 1,709,740 existing Arverne Group shares, representing 4.29% of the share capital and 4.91% of the voting rights, as part of an off-market block sale. This transaction will be accompanied by the appointment of a representative of Bpifrance to the Board of Directors, initially as censor, then as a director, whose appointment will be proposed no later than the first general meeting of Arverne Group shareholders following the combined general meeting of June 18, 2025. Becoming Arverne Group's shareholder is fully in line with Bpifrance's strategy of supporting players in the ecological and energy transition and in the reindustrialisation of France. Convinced of the relevance of its business model, at the heart of the challenges of decarbonisation, energy sovereignty and sovereign supply of critical materials, Bpifrance wishes to support the company in its development. Arverne Group is positioning itself as a major player in the French market for geothermal solutions, by developing two strategic areas: the supply of geothermal heat for its public and private network customers and industrial operators, and an innovative concept for extracting lithium from Alsatian brines, which are rich in this strategic metal for the battery industry. Drilling is the keystone of any activity involving the subsoil, so Arverne Group has developed an integrated model from exploration and drilling to production and sales to end users. As a fast-growing and mission-driven company, the Group's projects contribute to the prosperity of local communities. Pierre Brossollet, Founder and Chairman & CEO of Arverne Group stated: ' We are particularly pleased and proud that Bpifrance has become a shareholder in our company. Its commitment to us is a strong endorsement of our vision and strategy. This partnership marks a key stage in Arverne Group's development and will strengthen our ability to deploy our roadmap to reach an annual production capacity of 4 TWh of geothermal heat and 27,000 tons of geothermal lithium by 2031.' José Gonzalo, Executive Director, Bpifrance's Development Capital Division, added : ' Bpifrance is proud to support Arverne Group in its development, convinced by its strong market potential. This investment is a perfect illustration of Bpifrance's mission: to help innovative players to emerge with sustainable solutions, firmly rooted in the local areas and strategic to France's energy sovereignty and reindustrialisation.' Next event: June 18, 2025, Combined General Meeting About Arverne Group Arverne Group specializes in harnessing underground resources to transform them into environmentally friendly, local and renewable energy, contributing to the prosperity of local communities. As an integrated industrial player, Arverne Group spans the entire underground value chain, from exploration to drilling and production to sales to end-users. Arverne Group aims to become the French leader in geothermal energy and its by-products, including low-carbon geothermal lithium. Founded in Pau in 2018, Arverne Group has structured its business activities around several subsidiaries, notably Lithium de France (geothermal heat and extraction and sale of geothermal lithium), 2gré (sale of geothermal heat), Arverne Drilling Services (drilling operations). A mission-driven company, Arverne Group is listed on the Tech Leaders segment of Euronext Paris (ISIN FR001400JWR8, symbol ARVEN). About Bpifrance Bpifrance's equity investments are operated by Bpifrance Investissement. Bpifrance finances companies - at every stage of their development - through loans, guarantees and equity. Bpifrance supports them in their innovation and international projects. Bpifrance now also supports their export activities through a wide range of products. Advice, universities, networking and acceleration programmes for start-ups, SMEs and ETIs are also part of the services offered to entrepreneurs. Thanks to Bpifrance and its 50 regional offices, entrepreneurs have a single, close and effective contact to help them meet their challenges. More information : - / - Suivez nous sur LinkedIn : Bpifrance LinkedIn et sur X : @Bpifrance - @BpifrancePresse
Eater
28-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Eater
Best Dishes Eater Atlanta Ate in May 2025
May is my birthday month. Rest assured, this Taurus spent it dining out. Here are some of my favorite dishes from this very celebratory month. And for those curious, I spent my birthday brunch at Kamayan ATL enjoying a Filipino feast, followed by a cocktail party celebrating Aria's chef Gerry Klaskala's retirement, and finally returning home to a raspberry and dark chocolate cake from St. Germain, paired with an Alsatian sparkling rosé. Black garlic custard from Speakeasy Supper Club Chef Kyle Shankman's Speakeasy Supper Club is serving a new menu that builds beautifully with seasonality and creativity. Served at a long dining table at the chef's house, the dinner is an intimate affair. One of my favorite courses of the night was a black garlic custard with edamame, green pepper, and edible succulents. The black garlic had a dense, umami-packed richness, cut with the herbaceous edamame and bell pepper, alongside sweetness from the succulents. (Am I the only one who didn't know there was such a thing as edible succulents?) The dinner ends with a visually striking lemon poppyseed cake, with a yellow base and pink top stamped in a honeybee shape. The cake has bee pollen and golden milk with a surprise plum center when you cut into it. Additionally, I could've eaten eight dinner rolls with the housemade honey and lavender butter, which has been a staple on the menu since the beginning. You could spot chef Zach Meloy's handmade plateware at the dinner, too. Major uff . Tickets are $145 per person, and you can bring your own wine. Shankman's son, Trevor, runs the mega-popular Maria supper club at Vine Club in Adair Park. The father-son duo will team up for a pop-up dinner this fall. Tuna cheek ramen from O by Brush I went to a tuna cutting at one-Michelin-starred O by Brush recently, where chef Jason Liang carved a 206-pound tuna and fed diners nigiri, hand rolls, and other dishes from the fresh cuts. Though tuna spinal jelly and the forehead (noten) are my favorite cuts, one standout was the tuna ramen in the lineup. The tuna cheek (kama-toro) was grilled and folded into a massive ramen with quail eggs and its own fat. The noodles (though not made in-house) were perfectly chewy, and the eggs and tuna made the mixture luxuriously fatty. Tickets for a Father's Day tuna cutting are on sale now. Related I Went to a Tuna Cutting in Atlanta. Here's What Happened. Grilled white sweet potato from Ticonderoga Club Ticonderoga Club at Krog Street might have my favorite martini on deck (it's called the Nerve Pill and it's off-menu), but the grilled white sweet potato is the sleeper at the restaurant. It reminded me of the sweet potatoes I'd eat on the streets of New Delhi, grilled on coal, with a sprinkle of salt and lemon. Here it's served smashed and grilled with cream and a ton of herbs. It's the perfect bar snack for $13 — you'll thank me later. Gochujang sabayon yukhoe (Korean beef tartare) from Spring Atlanta's top Asian chefs gathered at the recent Good Luck Smokeshow at Sweet Auburn BBQ — you've got to look at the unbelievable lineup here. There were many stellar Asian dishes to sample, but the gochujang sabayon yukhoe (pronounced yook-whay), a spicy Korean beef tartare, with Korean pear, cucumber, and a gochujang egg yolk sauce, was a true standout. It was from Brian So's one-Michelin-starred Spring restaurant in Marietta. You mix the tartare with all of the other components and spoon it into seaweed for a refreshing, fiery bite. Though the dish was a special for the event, chef So says two yukhoe dishes will be served at Spring 2nd Branch opening this July. You can find all these spots on the Best Dishes I Ate List in the Eater App. Now you can make and share your own lists on the app. If you make a list, let me know, because I want to know what you're getting into. Sign up for our newsletter.
Yahoo
24-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
'Smart guy' Le Bris brings glory back to Sunderland
In the quiet north-east town of Washington, an unassuming Frenchman with a professorial manner pounds the streets deep in thought, with only his Alsatian dog Tampa for company. On his mind is how he can get the maximum out of his students at this crucial time of year. For most students, May is exam time, just like in football, the period when the major prizes are decided and a season's work is judged. Prizes do not come much bigger than a place in the Premier League, which is what Sunderland have now achieved after beating Sheffield United in the Championship play-off final. It is a moment that could become career defining for the Black Cats and their French head coach Regis Le Bris. It is fair to say that when Sunderland announced the appointment of Le Bris last June, underwhelmed was the overriding emotion. It had taken three months to find a permanent replacement for Michael Beale and the club had come up with a man who had just been relegated from Ligue 1 in France with Lorient. But now with the Black Cats now ending an eight-year exile from the top flight, that has turned to immense pride among the club's support. "The fans love him," said BBC Radio Newcastle's Sunderland commentator Nick Barnes. "The results are the first things that win them over, so he has achieved that. "But they also see that he is a genuinely nice guy with a nice demeanour about him. In public and in press conferences, he smiles, he can crack a joke, he's very patient and I think people have responded to that." Le Bris led Sunderland to their highest league finish since they won the Championship in 2007 under Roy Keane - the last time they were promoted to the Premier League. It began with four consecutive wins in their best start to a season for 99 years and they were never lower than fourth. Their place at Wembley was secured after two tense play-off encounters with Coventry City, and arguably the greatest moment at the Stadium of Light with Dan Ballard's 122nd-minute extra-time header sending fans into raptures. Now on the back of that, more than 35,000 will be present under the arch to see if they can return to the top flight for the first time since 2017. "Le Bris ticked the boxes of what we needed without us necessarily getting excited about it," said Richard Easterbrook of Sunderland's Wise Men Say podcast. "What I like about him is he is calm and understated. He doesn't get too high with victory or too carried away with defeat. He's the perfect guy for Sunderland right now. "I don't think a top-two finish was realistic as we were a small fish in a pond of Premier League parachute money, so to finish fourth very comfortably is testament to him and his coaching team. "To keep Sunderland fans happy is quite an achievement in itself as we're a bit of an awkward bunch, but Le Bris has played it beautifully." Can Sheffield United join the hoodoo breakers? Black Cats out to complete season's purpose - Le Bris 'Devastation to incredible': Phillips on his play-off final extremes Le Bris' popularity on Wearside, aided by a great start last autumn, meant that a trip to the seafront at Roker early on in his tenure caught him by surprise when he was mobbed by fans. Learning his lesson, this calm and considered character has since sneaked in to Newcastle on occasion to enjoy an evening out. However, it is at the Academy of Light where this student of football is in his element. "Regis is a bit shy, but he's very personable and he has a wry sense of humour and he's become a bit more comfortable in his own skin as the season has gone on," said Barnes. "He is very, very focused. He seems to spend his life immersed in the job. He jokingly refers to being at his happiest in front of his laptop, watching matches. "That culminates in getting them to Wembley. That has been the one ambition all season. "He purposely learnt English to come to this country to make a name for himself and you could argue he has done that because the season is a success, whatever happens this Saturday." Le Bris had a modest playing career, during which time he featured in Ligue 1 for Rennes, but this proud son of Brittany found his true calling when he turned his hand to coaching at the age of 27 with Wasquehal. He quickly obtained his badges and was soon returning to his old club to take on a youth coaching role. He had success there winning the French equivalent of the Youth Cup and the U18 Championship before taking on a similar job at Lorient. Again, he was heavily involved in the youth programme, being successful with the under-17s and then becoming reserve team manager. But behind his involvement in youth football was a burning desire to improve himself and take on a top job. "Regis has always been very ambitious," said Mathieu Pelicart, Lorient correspondent for regional newspaper Le Telegramme. "While preparing to make the step up to be a number one, he had already done a few trips abroad to clubs in Germany and Spain and he had never hidden his desire to learn more about other leagues." His wish was granted as he took over Lorient in 2022, and after eight wins in his first 10 games the club reached second in the table. They eventually finished 10th, but still enjoyed wins against Lyon, Lille and most notably at Paris St-Germain - a side containing Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe. However, things went awry in his second season which ultimately ended with relegation on the final day. "For many supporters, Le Bris is the person most responsible for that relegation," said Pellicart. "But for me, it was the club's president, Loic Fery, who sold the club's best players in January 2023 and then recruited badly the following summer." One man who had been keeping an eye on events at Lorient was the Black Cats' French owner Kyril Louis-Dreyfus. Sunderland had put together a talented but youthful squad with teenagers like Jobe Bellingham, younger brother of Real Madrid and England star Jude, and Chris Rigg and they needed a guiding hand. And although there was no experience in English football and only two years as a number one, Le Bris was almost the perfect candidate to take this project on. "Regis Le Bris is a pure coach," said French football expert Julien Laurens. "All he cares about is the training pitch, doing his sessions, transmitting his ideas across and the game itself. What surrounds that is not really for him. "Le Bris used to be one of the best academy directors and youth-level coaches in France. "Even if he gets Sunderland to the Premier League and is up against managers like Arne Slot, Pep Guardiola, Mikel Arteta - what Le Bris loves the most is coaching young players. "He is so good at explaining to them how to get better. "I had no doubt that moving to Sunderland could work for him, and when he looked at the videos he realised the potential." Growing up in Brittany, Le Bris was proud of his roots and the strong Breton cultural identity of the area. So when deciding to leave, moving to the north-east of England may seem miles apart, but the 49-year-old has forged a strong attachment to Wearside. "He used to be in a club in Lorient that had so much identity," said Laurens. "Sunderland was perfect for him. He could only have gone to a club with such a strong sense of identity and community like Sunderland has because that's what he was used to. "He's a very proud Breton and he knows how much this means to people in Sunderland and in the region overall." If successful at Wembley, Le Bris would be the first French manager in the Premier League since Patrick Vieira left Crystal Palace in March 2023. And with a doctorate in sport physiology and biomechanics to his name, he would certainly bring a different feel to the touchline, with behaviour associated with his countryman Arsene Wenger in his two decades at Arsenal. "Le Bris grew up in an environment of having intellectual-type managers - Arsene Wenger types," said Laurens. "That really marked him as a player, and he was always going to be a similar coach to the ones he had. "That is the view of how he sees the game. He is such a smart guy - he is very different to what we are used to in football. He is different to 90% of the other managers." This studious Frenchman will forever be a hero on Wearside - his reputation now guaranteed after writing a glorious new chapter in Sunderland's chequered history. This article was first published on 23 May.
