Latest news with #Franco-Lebanese
France 24
16-05-2025
- Entertainment
- France 24
A cultural stroll through Paris with actor Jacques Gamblin and singer Hiba Tawaji
15:10 From the show This week on Paris des Arts, Valérie Fayolle meets with the talented actor and writer Jacques Gamblin, as he releases his novel "Mère à l'horizon". He takes us to Paris's Centquatre cultural centre, a creative hub popular with art lovers. We also get a behind-the-scenes glimpse at Franco-Lebanese singer Hiba Tawaji's creative process, as she records a new album. Finally, we shine a spotlight on the paintings of artist Alexandre Bakker.
Asharq Al-Awsat
01-05-2025
- Business
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Syria Signs New 30-year Deal with French Shipping Giant CMA CGM
Syria on Thursday signed a 30-year deal with French shipping and logistics group CMA CGM that includes building a new berth at Latakia port and investing another 230 million euros ($260 million) over the course of the partnership, a company official said. Latakia port is Syria's main maritime gateway. CMA CGM began managing Latakia's container terminal in 2009, under now-ousted Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad. The contract was most recently renewed in October 2024, also under Assad, for 30 more years. After the opposition toppled Assad in December, the new authorities began talks on an amended deal. It was signed on Thursday by officials from the company and from Syria's port authority. "CMA CGM has signed today the concession of the port of Latakia for a 30-year contract. We are committed to modernizing and expanding the terminal to meet growing demand and strengthen supply chains in the region," Joe Dakkak, general manager at CMA CGM LEVANT, told Reuters. Dakkak told local broadcaster Syria TV that the agreement included a 230-million-euro investment, as well as a project to build a new, deeper berth at Latakia in order to increase activity at the port. A person familiar with the deal said CMA CGM would invest 30 million euros in the first year and the rest in the following four years. The person said the berth would be 1.5 kilometers (0.9 miles) long and 17 meters deep, with advanced infrastructure. CMA CGM is controlled by Franco-Lebanese billionaire Rodolphe Saade and other members of his family, which has roots in Syria. A Syrian source familiar with the negotiations had earlier told Reuters that Syrian authorities had hoped to negotiate a larger share of the revenues than the previous contract as well as a shorter timeframe for the terminal lease.
Zawya
01-05-2025
- Business
- Zawya
Syria signs new 30-year deal with French shipping giant CMA CGM
Syria on Thursday signed a 30-year deal with French shipping and logistics group CMA CGM that includes building a new berth at Latakia port and investing another 230 million euros ($260 million) over the course of the partnership, a company official said. Latakia port is Syria's main maritime gateway. CMA CGM began managing Latakia's container terminal in 2009, under now-ousted Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad. The contract was most recently renewed in October 2024, also under Assad, for 30 more years. After rebels toppled Assad in December, the new authorities began talks on an amended deal. It was signed on Thursday by officials from the company and from Syria's port authority. "CMA CGM has signed today the concession of the port of Latakia for a 30-year contract. We are committed to modernizing and expanding the terminal to meet growing demand and strengthen supply chains in the region," Joe Dakkak, general manager at CMA CGM LEVANT, told Reuters. Dakkak told local broadcaster Syria TV that the agreement included a 230-million-euro investment, as well as a project to build a new, deeper berth at Latakia in order to increase activity at the port. A person familiar with the deal said CMA CGM would invest 30 million euros in the first year and the rest in the following four years. The person said the berth would be 1.5 kilometres (0.9 miles) long and 17 meters deep, with advanced infrastructure. CMA CGM is controlled by Franco-Lebanese billionaire Rodolphe Saade and other members of his family, which has roots in Syria. A Syrian source familiar with the negotiations had earlier told Reuters that Syrian authorities had hoped to negotiate a larger share of the revenues than the previous contract as well as a shorter timeframe for the terminal lease. ($1 = 0.8845 euros)
Reuters
01-05-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Syria signs new 30-year deal with French shipping giant CMA CGM
BEIRUT, May 1 (Reuters) - Syria on Thursday signed a 30-year deal with French shipping and logistics group CMA CGM that includes building a new berth at Latakia port and investing another 230 million euros ($260 million) over the course of the partnership, a company official said. Latakia port is Syria's main maritime gateway. CMA CGM began managing Latakia's container terminal in 2009, under now-ousted Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad. The contract was most recently renewed in October 2024, also under Assad, for 30 more years. After rebels toppled Assad in December, the new authorities began talks on an amended deal. It was signed on Thursday by officials from the company and from Syria's port authority. "CMA CGM has signed today the concession of the port of Latakia for a 30-year contract. We are committed to modernizing and expanding the terminal to meet growing demand and strengthen supply chains in the region," Joe Dakkak, general manager at CMA CGM LEVANT, told Reuters. Dakkak told local broadcaster Syria TV that the agreement included a 230-million-euro investment, as well as a project to build a new, deeper berth at Latakia in order to increase activity at the port. A person familiar with the deal said CMA CGM would invest 30 million euros in the first year and the rest in the following four years. The person said the berth would be 1.5 kilometres (0.9 miles) long and 17 meters deep, with advanced infrastructure. CMA CGM is controlled by Franco-Lebanese billionaire Rodolphe Saade and other members of his family, which has roots in Syria. A Syrian source familiar with the negotiations had earlier told Reuters that Syrian authorities had hoped to negotiate a larger share of the revenues than the previous contract as well as a shorter timeframe for the terminal lease. ($1 = 0.8845 euros)
Local France
09-04-2025
- Politics
- Local France
French court to rule in September in Sarkozy Libya funding case
Sarkozy, who was president from 2007 to 2012, has denied the charges. He is already serving a one-year sentence with an electronic bracelet in a separate influence-peddling case. Prosecutors argue that the former conservative leader and his aides devised a pact with Kadhafi in 2005 to illegally fund his victorious presidential election bid two years later. They have requested the 70-year-old serve a seven-year prison sentence, pay a fine of €300,000 and be handed a five-year ban on holding office. As the trial ended on Tuesday, Sarkozy described the prosecution's demand as 'political and violent' in a 'hateful media and political context'. 'I am not here to do politics but to defend my honour and for the truth to be established,' he said, refusing to comment further. His trial closed soon after another Paris court sentenced far-right leader Marine Le Pen to a jail term and a five-year ban on running for office for embezzling European Union funds. The move has thrown into doubt her bid to stand for president in 2027 and infuriated her supporters, who have criticised the judiciary. Prosecutors allege that Sarkozy and senior figures pledged to help Kadhafi rehabilitate his international image in return for campaign financing. The West has blamed Tripoli for bombing Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, in 1988, and UTA Flight 772 over Niger in 1989, killing hundreds of passengers. Sarkozy and 11 others have been on trial since January. Advertisement They include Sarkozy's former right-hand man, Claude Gueant, his then-head of campaign financing Eric Woerth, and former minister Brice Hortefeux, all of whom deny the charges. The prosecution's case is based on statements from seven former Libyan dignitaries, trips to Libya by Gueant and Hortefeux, financial transfers, and the notebooks of the former Libyan oil minister Shukri Ghanem, who was found drowned in the Danube in 2012. Defence attorney Christophe Ingrain on Tuesday urged the court to acquit the ex-president. He argued Sarkozy, head of the UMP party at the time, did not need Libyan funding for his presidential campaign. 'Why would he feel the need for another means of funding?' he said. 'How much did he ask for? How would this money have arrived in France? How was it used in the campaign? The prosecution does not say, as this funding does not exist,' he said. Franco-Lebanese businessman Ziad Takieddine, a key figure in the case and a fugitive in Lebanon, claimed several times that he helped deliver up to €5 million from Kadhafi in 2006 and 2007. But in 2020, Takieddine retracted his statement, raising suspicions that Sarkozy and close allies may have paid the witness to change his story. Tristan Gautier, another defence lawyer, also argued Takieddine did not withdraw €670,000 in cash from Libya to fund Sarkozy's campaign, as alleged by the prosecution. Advertisement Instead he 'systematically used this money for his personal spending' – 'astronomical bills in luxury hotels', 'yacht cruises', or even 'work on villas', Gautier said. He argued another alleged funding route via Kadhafi's chief of staff made 'no sense' as it involved the purported role of a man who was close to one of Sarkozy's rivals. Sarkozy's career has been shadowed by legal troubles since he lost the 2012 presidential election. But he remains an influential figure and is known to regularly meet with President Emmanuel Macron.
