France to offer tax credits on video games
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France is to offer tax credits to  encourage local companies to develop video games, the Ministry  of Culture said on Thursday.
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(InfoWorld) - The French government plans to make the region around Paris a center of excellence for open-source software development, the French Minister of the Economy, Finance and Industry, Thierry Breton, said Monday. The goal of the center of excellence is to develop a healthy and profitable open-source software industry. Breton, previously head of France TÃ©lÃ©com SA, announced the plan at a news conference to discuss a new report on the French economy's future, "The intangible economy: tomorrow's growth." A new economic and technological model, built on free software, is forming in the IT industry, Breton said. As this new opportunity opens up, it is "calling into question the dominant positions formed in the software industry over the last 15 years." France must seize this opportunity, in a sector where the country is teeming with talent, he said. Breton hopes that sales of software and other intangibles will help the French economy grow by between 3 percent and 4 percent annually. In contrast, the Chinese economy, based on more tangible goods such as the export of computers, is growing at around 10 percent annually, according to figures from the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development. A group of academics and open-source software entrepreneurs have come together to create the center of excellence. Roberto Di Cosmo, professor at the University of Paris 7, will lead the group, assisted by Alexandre Zapolsky, chief executive officerÂ of open-source software services company Linagora SA. FranÃ§ois Bancilhon, CEO of Linux distributor Mandriva SA and StÃ©fane Fermigier, CEO of open-source enterprise content management software company Nuxeo SAS will also take part. The group's members said the center of excellence will allow the Paris region to renew its industrial base and slow the loss of jobs to low-cost locations. Although the Internet other tools have simplified virtual collaborative working, software development still needs a physical place, Di Cosmo said via e-mail. "It would be very naÃ¯ve to forget the importance of human contact, and the physical environment in which many projects grow before moving into the virtual phase. If everything is so simple in the virtual world, why are there so many developers' conferences?" he said. Explaining the choice of Paris as a center, Fermigier said, "We work with many people elsewhere, but the kernel is in the Paris region." While Breton is clearly most concerned with France's economic growth, the center will also contribute to the development of the software industry across the European Union, Fermigier said. The French government has published the report as a PDF file.
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A tax rebate is at the center of a plan to stimulate a flagging economy.
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France could tax new computer, television  and mobile phone sales by 1 to 2 percent to help fund its  state-owned TV channels, Les Echos newspaper reported on  Thursday.
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France decreed Wednesday that overseas veterans will soon get the same pensions as their French peers.
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France announced plans Tuesday to spend over 1 billion euros ($1.2 billion) on tax breaks and other incentives to encourage companies to keep jobs in the country rather than going abroad.
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Games giant Electronic Arts takes a slice of smaller French rival Ubisoft, makers of Prince of Persia and Splinter Cell.
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Germany and France have agreed that a future combination of European Aeronautic, Defense and Space Co. and Thales SA must benefit both countries&#39; interests, Economics and Labor Minister Wolfgang Clement said.
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Video-game software giant Electronic Arts (ERTS:Nasdaq - news - research) plans to take a 19.9% stake in French rival Ubisoft. The investment will come through a block purchase of Ubisoft shares from Talpa Beheer BV.
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TORONTO -- Ontario&#39;s consumer minister is putting parents on notice about the newest video game sensation to hit store shelves.
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NEW YORK, December 21  - The worldâs largest video game maker Electronic Arts (ERTS.NAS) announced yesterday that it had purchased a 20% stake in its French competitor Ubisoft Entertainment.
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France announced plans Tuesday to spend over 1 billion euros (&#36;1.2 billion) on tax breaks and other incentives to encourage companies to keep jobs in the country rather than going abroad.
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Research and Markets (http://www.researchandmarkets.com/reports/c50021)  has announced the addition of "Computer  Hardware in France" to their offering.
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Vivendi Universal will create 2,100 jobs over five years as part of a deal agreed with the French government allowing the French media and communications group to book tax credits under a new regime, the French finance ministry said.
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Recent launches of new video game consoles from Sony , Microsoft  and Nintendo  are benefiting game maker Electronic Arts Inc. , which is aiming to garner 20 percent of total game sales, according to Barron's.
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British Columbia  said on Friday it plans to extend its tax incentives for film  makers, which have lured movie production work from the United  States and angered Hollywood unions.
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The French Government is to sell part of its stake in France Telecom to help reduce the country's debt, the finance ministry says.