France

• [New] The vast majority of Canada's 434 credit unions and caisses populaires (the equivalent in French-speaking Canada) are provincially-regulated and are not obliged to participate, but they still see open banking as an opportunity to gain new members. American Banker
• [New] Some countries attempt to reconcile individuals who might be attracted by right-wing extremism with the democratic process (Germany), while others aim at ensuring right-wing extremism does not affect the State and focus far less on individuals (France). European Parliament
• [New] India and France co-launched the International Solar Alliance in 2015, to mobilise US$ 1 trillion of investment in solar energy solutions by 2030 and installing 1,000 GW of solar energy capacity globally. ESG Investor
• [New] France, the U.K., and the United States have all stated that they will not only keep existing nuclear facilities running, but also now plan to invest heavily in innovations, including small modular reactors (SMRs). Policy Options
• [New] France's TotalEnergies and Houston-based New Hope Energy have entered into a commercial agreement under which New Hope Energy will build an advanced recycling plant in Texas to transform end-of-life plastic waste into a recycled feedstock. Plastics Technology
• [New] In the UK, a couple in a marriage or civil partnership with one income and two children earning the OECD average wage will surrender around 40% more than the comparable family in France, and nearly three times more than the comparable family in the US. CARE
• [New] In countries including France, Greece and Russia, minority languages were more at risk, because children are usually educated in the national language only. The New York Times
• [New] Between 28 and 38% of nurse respondents in the United States, the United Kingdom, Singapore, Japan, and France indicated they were likely to leave their current role in direct patient care in 2023. McKinsey & Company
• [New] After France, Belgium, Japan and the US, Transatel 5G IoT solution will soon be rolled-out in many other countries. NTT
• [New] Whereas Britain has specialised in hosting Russian capital, Germany in consuming Russian energy, and France has historically seen Russia as a potential strategic partner, Poland and the Baltics never cease to stress the threat to their hard-won sovereignty. The Guardian
• [New] India and France will continue to jointly promote the adoption of a strong and ambitious legally binding instrument to end plastic pollution, while respecting the principle of national circumstances and capability in taking actions to address plastic pollution. Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India
• [New] India and France agreed to explore opportunities to jointly work on just energy transition pathways including under G7 to accelerate the deployment of renewables and access to affordable and sustainable energy. Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India
• [New] Trade disruption between the EU and Russia is expected to hit mega-wine producers France, Italy and Spain the hardest. BeverageDaily.com
• [New] The 5th reactor, Olkiluoto 3 constructed by the French-German consortium Areva-Siemens, went online in March and could offer 15% of Finland's electricity whilst it starts producing at complete capacity in September. BOL NEWS
• The reelection of authoritarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban in Hungary on April 3-and even far-right leader Marine Le Pen's strong showing in the first round of the French presidential election on April 10-confirmed that right-wing populism remains a threat to democracy in Europe. Foreign Policy
• Officials from Italy and Germany have already secured supply deals with Qatar, while France's TotalEnergies will begin shipping Emirati oil to Europe this month. Middle East Institute
• Urban-Air Port plans to open more than 200 vertiports in cities like London, Los Angeles and countries like Australia, France, Germany and South East Asia. NZ Herald
• Whereas the threat to democracy posed by the Beijing-Moscow alliance is more ephemeral in older and more established democracies such as the United States, Britain, Germany, France, and Japan, in Ukraine it is manifested in widespread death and destruction. The Atlantic
• After the shah of Iran offered to sell oil to France in exchange for nuclear reactors, the French government realized that it could trade oil for nuclear technologies with other countries in the Persian Gulf - arousing the interest of Saudi Arabia and Iraq. Texas National Security Review
• Maritime cooperation between India and France has reached new levels of trust and will continue through exercises, exchanges and joint endeavours throughout the Indian Ocean. Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India
• Lebanon might see Israel as the military operator, the Gulf states as the economic operator, and the United States in conjunction with France as the diplomatic operator. Washington Institute
• France is expected to see massive May Day protests on Sunday as demonstrators on both sides of the political spectrum - but especially on the left - are expected to vent their anger over President Emmanuel Macron's re-election. FRANCE 24

Last updated: 25 May 2022