ICYMI: I had a tasty and varied lunch with Nobel prize winner Philippe Aghion. Lots of interesting stuff in here on AI and growth, how to deal with wealth taxes and the legacy of his one-time economics student, Emmanuel Macron...
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Car bosses pledge bigger investment in Europe if petrol ban is relaxed on.ft.com/47FSG4E
Shot, chaser
Young men more likely to vote Green than Reform. Young men second most progressive group of any demographic. Combined right-wing vote barely bigger than Green vote alone for young men
French debt downgrade piles pressure on Macron’s new prime minister
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Macron bets on Sébastien Lecornu, the 39-year-old fixer who has been part of his governments since 2017, to succeed where so many before him have failed. Our analysis:
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Whoops for EDF! Click through if you, like me, would like to learn the collective noun for jellyfish
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New in FT: French finance minister Eric Lombard tells us compromise on his €44bn deficit reduction plan is “inevitable”, as French PM François Bayrou is set to be booted out of office
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The Korean nuclear industry is accusing EDF of being in contravention of state aid rules — after EDF accused Korea’s state nuclear company KHNP of the same thing.
In Europe Express with @iancjohnston.bsky.social
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FT Editorial: "Unless the Israeli government agrees to an immediate end to the war and a surge of aid into Gaza, western countries should be sanctioning Netanyahu and his government." www.ft.com/content/69d5...
Macron and Merz say they will ramp up defence spending to 5 per cent of GDP ahead of NATO meeting, in a joint FT op-ed.
"We will live for the foreseeable future in a deeply destabilised environment, and in a world in which our allies will have other dilemmas and priorities"
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After months of reporting (and even my own attempt at a jiu jitsu class), my FT Magazine cover story on Mark Zuckerberg’s metamorphosis to red-blooded “Maga Mark” is out!
Is this political expediency, a midlife crisis or who Zuck has been all along?
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FT exclusive: US private equity group Apollo has agreed £4.5bn in debt financing to support the UK’s Hinkley Point C nuclear power station, easing mounting financial pressure on the delayed and over-budget project led by France's EDF.
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Emmanuel Macron’s decision to make a symbolic stopover in Greenland on his way to the G7 and criticise Trump’s desire to control the island had irritated the US President and contributed to his decision to leave early, three officials attending the summit told @financialtimes.com
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After the shock resignation of Renault boss Luca de Meo on Sunday to lead luxury group Kering, the head of budget car brand Dacia is a leading contender to succeed him.
More details on how De Meo's departure rocked Renault in our story 👇
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Scoop in the FT today: UK authorities have commissioned a human rights review into a $20bn gas development in Mozambique led by France's TotalEnergies. It comes as the UK assesses whether it is going to keep funding the controversial project
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Tesla drivers in France sue over Elon Musk’s political antics-to terminate the leases for their vehicles, alleging chief executive Elon Musk’s political activities have made their cars “far-right totems”. www.ft.com/content/ef4a... @iancjohnston.bsky.social @financialtimes.com
Hedge funds are circling more than a dozen distressed companies in France, we reported in the FT yesterday
Shocks from Trump's tariffs to the aftermath of last summer's French elections are weighing on indebted businesses, many of which are owned by private equity groups 👇
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Can oil and gas companies be "major actors in the energy transition" while developing new fossil fuel resources? And is gas a "transition fuel"?
France's TotalEnergies is under fire in a landmark "greenwashing" trial that questions how companies communicate their climate goals.
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Macron meets Giorgia Meloni in Rome today, for discussions on Ukraine, migration and more. But it's also a bid to repair relations. The pair do not get on, to put it lightly.
Story with @amykazmin.bsky.social
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Scoop in today's FT: Starmer and Macron will give the go-ahead to the UK's Sizewell C nuclear station at an Anglo-French summit next month. UK ministers have been drumming up billions of private sector investment for the EDF-designed plant. With @pickardje.bsky.social and team:
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'Forever chemicals' are seeping into waterways across Europe. A vanishingly small, man-made molecule resists all attempts of removal. How will the EU eradicate the pollution? www.ft.com/content/a36c...
Greenpeace activists steal Emmanuel Macron's waxwork from the Musée Grevin, in protest against trade between Russia and France. Bien joué
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I don't think the FT would let me write like this, even for a football report. The intro celebrating a PSG victory that will be remembered till the end of time is a triumph of joyous Gallic excess...
Impressive victory for PSG last night in the Champions League, followed by a less impressive reaction on the streets of Paris...
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Merci!
French-Italian carmaker Stellantis got a new chief executive this week: Antonio Filosa. Faced with Trump's tariffs and a not so healthy car market, the water polo-playing boss faces a tough task of keeping the struggling company afloat.
Our profile in the FT today:
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I'm the Paris correspondent for the FT and I'll be posting mostly, but not exclusively, about France. Follow along if you want to read things I have written, things I find interesting and, sometimes, both of those things
