Archive for November 2012
After Google and Amazon, French tax authorities target Facebook
In recent weeks, we’ve been covering quite extensively Google and their quarrels with the French government. An attempt to re-instate the Google Tax led to French media banding together to propose a law forcing Google to pay royalties for snippets used on Google sites. This all happened as French tax authorities investigate Google France & Google […]
European Angels: an evening with FR startups before LeWeb
I’m very excited to announce the first ever meet’n’greet between business angels/mentors and French startups. The event will take place on December 3rd, the evening before LeWeb, at La Grosse Caisse in the middle of the Paris startup district. It is an invite-only event, and we will be equally strict on angels and startups, who […]
France launches its own fiber optic internet project. Nationwide.
Late last week, the French government finally kicked-off its highly anticipated “ultra high-speed internet’ (i.e. greater than 30Mb/s) project which centers on the extending fiber optic networking across all of France (ideally) by 2020. This 2020 timing is actually an objective that was set at the EU level. The government has selected Antoine Darodes, the currrent […]
Google Transparency Report: French government tops user data requests
Earlier this week, Google updated its Google Transparency Report – a report that shows, among other things, removal & data requests by governments & copyright holders to Google. The report details requests for removal from search, and shows an overall increase in the number of requests from governments to hand over data, as seen in the graph […]
Whyd cofounder Gilles Poupardin talks Music, Paris & Sean Parker
In my first ever interview showcasing the start-up Whyd, Gilles Poupardin, the co-founder and CEO discusses his goal of evolving music curation experience that connects fans (not unlike twitter) with their respective artists. Spotify, Deezer, and Pandora are three globally dominant online music streaming platforms that have not only impressive UI design but a massive following – millions tune in […]
What the Gallois report means for tech startups
Last week the French government’s Commissaire général à l’investissement, Louis Gallois, released his eagerly anticipated diagnosis on France’s competitiveness to the Prime Minister, Jean-Marc Ayrault. Encompassing six major themes and 22 specific proposals, the Pacte pour la Compétitivité de L’industrie Française is both sweeping in its analysis and prescriptive in recommending solutions. The Gallois Report […]
Oracle S. Europe CEO joins i-Dispo as investor in $1M+ round
Earlier this week, reported[FR] that i-Dispo, a French startup working on virtual personal assistant Sara, had raised a round of funding of “more than $1 Million,” with new investors including the CEO of Oracle France, Annie Eyt. Rude Baguette has now confirmed the fund raising with i-Dispo founder Ismaël Nzouetom, who says the funding will be used […]
Magpie Polymers mines for gold in toxic water
CEO of Magpie Polymers, Steven van Zutphen, is the first to admit it’s an unusual place to look for gold – water, and then hastens to mention it’s not just gold, but a lot of metals, including the Platinum Group Metals – Platinum, Palladium and Rhodium. The chemical process behind that, to which he’s one […]
Rude Hangout: Talking Mobile with Appsfire co-founder Yann Lechelle
This Friday, Rude Baguette will continue its Rude Hangout series by welcoming Yann Lechelle, co-founder & “coder” of Appsfire, a startup creating a mobile ad network, among other things. I’ll be broadcasting live from General Assembly’ European Buffet in London, going on this whole week. The event idea is simple: Each week, I’ll livestream a […]
Forget Google – France just hit Amazon with $252M in back taxes
These days in France, all we read about in France is the French government’s ongoing pursuit of the coffers of Google, who pay as little as 2% taxes on the revenue generated by French customers; however, Reuters shifted the attention towards another tax-optimized giant, Amazon, who has been hit with back taxes to the tune […]