Those who want to buy an apartment in Fort Issy-les-Moulineaux, just outside Paris, have an incentive to hurry. Of the 1600 units under construction, only a few dozen have not yet been sold. The first occupants will move in March 2013 in this brand new neighborhood. The end of a very long history. "The first contacts with the Ministry of Defence, owner of the fort, took place in 1997, says Christophe Provot, deputy mayor of Issy-les-Moulineaux, delegate to urban planning. And the sale did not occur until 2010! "

Several causes for these delays in extension. First the different administrations (Ministry of Budget, Ministry of Defence, France Fields …) could not agree on the price of 12 ha. Then, the state and the municipality have long passed the buck who would pay for the removal of 3,000 shells dispatched on that land.

Finally, the state sold the land to the town 60 million, taking charge of the 7.6 million related to site cleanup. The city has invested $ 60 million in additional public facilities (creche, library) and sold the land to developers (Kaufman & Broad, Bouygues …) that offered the highest price.

Result, these apartments are quite expensive: 6500 euros per m² on average. "To have more affordable prices, would have required the State to make efforts and not sell his land at market rate, estimated Loiseleur Raymond, chairman of the SEM (Society of Issy mixed economy. He made another choice. "

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"Vote and go anyway!" Displays the travel agency Nouvelles Frontieres, "Vote by proxy and win a free night for two nights and get" diffuse the tourist office in Les Sables d'Olonne, "Voting is open its mouth but better "placards at all is a sign of fast food in ten different languages, while the ski resort of Chamrousse proposed his" ski pass citizen "and that the General Council of Essonne offered tickets to a rugby match to persons who have completed their duty to vote. In short, all the slogans that incentives, like ideas, no lack of originality in recent weeks. The objective is twofold: to reduce abstention but also generate additional revenue, or at least ride the wave of presidential elections.  

When the ballot becomes a ski day

The tourist office in Chamrousse (Isère) has understood that he had a vested interest in dragging this track one: "We decided to align the end of the ski season with the day of the first round of presidential elections , by implementing a package to a Euro on presentation of the electoral map duly stamped "says Medhi Kerbati, director of the tourist office. Obviously, he had to get up early to vote at a time and enjoy a sunny day of skiing. The Director welcomes further: "In 2007, we sold between 300 and 350 pass the same day, while on Sunday we have been almost 4,000 packages a day, including 2800 'skipass citizens'." Therefore a boon to the small station with 90 km tracks. It would be even one of the best days of the season.  

Discounts or freebies appreciated

In Roubaix (North), fast food Burger Food Familiy partnered with the association "Brigade civic action" to grant 10% discount for two rounds of elections, upon presentation of the electoral map stamped. The manager, Ahmed Meguedmi, was very satisfied with the effects of operation: "We found that customers who were not usually crossed our doors, especially young people, but our clientele is 80% family time normal. On April 22, traffic on our restaurants increased by 30-40% compared to other Sundays, "he says cheap pay day loans. An approach more citizen when one remembers that Roubaix had obtained the record abstention in the first round of regional elections in 2010, over 71%. In the first round of this year's presidential, abstention remained high at 31.43%.

In the wake of the fight against abstention, in Arles and Aix-en-Provence (Bouches-du-Rhone), the taxi company and Co-bikes Taco has offered to the two rounds of elections free transport customers to their polling station. Was free from 8h to 13h, and the operation has been very positive as explained Aldric Monteux, co-manager of the company: "We were able to combine a citizen but also environmentally friendly, while trying to reduce the abstention. We have carried twenty, or forty trips. This was especially the elderly or people then cut transport, which would probably not displaced. "  

Campaigns sometimes left fallow

Another tourist office, that of Les Sables d'Olonne (Vendee), capitalized on an extended operation on the four weekends of presidential and legislative elections, of offering a third night for people who have established an attorney. In agreement with a dozen providers, the business case put forward here is quite as indicated Dixte Mathieu, marketing manager of the site of the tourist office: "We launched the operation on March 28 because not only the elections Presidential is a drag but tourism and more at this time we still see a drop in attendance of around 15-20%. It was a way to both promote our destination, and encourage people to vote. "  

The only cloud on the table: because of bad weather, the impact has been almost nil, although the website of the tourist office in question recorded an increase of nearly 17,000 visits over the same period (March 24 to 23 April) compared to last year. The operation, in turn, drained 1600 visits since the beginning of the operation.

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This is the social security scheme for employees and students. It covers 57 million French people, more than 87% of the population. It also funds 86% of health spending in the country, with resources from mainly social contributions (48%) and CSG (36%).

In 2010, the CPAM (Caisse primary health insurance) paid 142 billion euros in benefits, an average of € 5,260 per person. This total includes:

-Benefits in kind: reimbursement of medical expenses, hospital fees …

-Cash benefits: daily allowances of sickness.

Its current deficit was 18.6 billion euros.

Note: the local scheme of comprehensive health insurance benefits paid by Medicare for the inhabitants of Alsace (Haut-Rhin, Bas-Rhin) and Moselle.  

The agricultural system

The agricultural system provides both operators (attached to the AMEXA) and agricultural workers. It is managed by the MSA (MSA). It protects 3.5 million beneficiaries and $ 28 billion benefit in 2010, € 4670 per person per year. As for the general scheme, this amount includes benefits in kind and cash. Reimbursements for medical expenses are also identical. Its deficit is currently $ 1.4 billion.

Namely: the scheme provides not only those working on farms, but also employees of service companies in connection with the agricultural community, as insurance or banking.

The social system of independent (RSI)

This plan administers health insurance for artisans, merchants and professionals. However, it manages itself as contributions. Indeed, the repayments are in turn delegated to agencies under contract who are insurers or mutual. It covers 3.5 million beneficiaries who receive benefits 6.8 billion.

The reimbursement of medical expenses and hospitalization are again identical to those of employees. However, some professions, such as professionals, do not receive any daily allowances in case of sickness.

The special insurance

Certain sectors or companies, for historical reasons, developed their own health insurance. They are special diets. There are 11 in total, among which are the regimes of sailors, soldiers, mining companies (which merged with the basic plan to end 2013), SNCF, RATP, the gas industry and electricity, the Bank of France, clerks and employees of notaries … But also the Paris Opera, the Port of Bordeaux, the National Assembly or the Senate.

All these schemes are grouped in the National Union Special (UNRS). They cover a total of about 5 million people. Reimbursements for medical expenses are generally identical to those of employees. However, some plans offer more benefits.

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The output of the Kindle Fire turns to the correction for all other manufacturers of Android tablets. In February, just four months after its release, the tablet from Amazon in the U.S. represented over half of the market (54.4%), excluding iPad, according to data from comScore Institute released Thursday. His closest competitor was the Galaxy Tab by Samsung, whose share decreased from 23.8% to 15.4% in three months. Other models, such as Motorola Xoom, Asus and Toshiba AT100 Transformer, got only the crumbs.

These data, comScore estimated by using the number of tablets that connect to the Internet every month, have not been confirmed by Amazon. As usual, the maker of the Kindle Fire refuses to give precise sales figures, even if the indicators that are favorable to accumulate. His tablet is "being the best selling, most available and most desired" by customers on Amazon.com, he simply has to announce in the press release accompanying the publication of its quarterly results Thursday.

The excellent launch of Kindle Fire in the United States, the only country where it is sold to date, shows that the market shelves can extend far beyond the iPad. With its 7-inch screen diagonal (17.8 centimeters), its list of functions reduced to essentials (no 3G, no camera, no accelerometer), the Kindle is sold only Fire $ 199, two times less than the first iPad. At the point where we now ready to Apple intends to expand in this segment, by launching an iPad smaller and cheaper.

"Google has lost control of Android tablets"

Hollow, the success of the Kindle Fire also highlights the poor performance of other Android tablets before. Apple sold 35 million iPad last year, against 5,000,000 in 2011 for Samsung, its nearest competitor. The arrival of Amazon is not necessarily good news for Google. Fire Aboard The Kindle indeed deeply modified version of the Android system. "It's official: Google has lost control of the market for Android tablets," headlined the Thursday specialized site Business Insider.

For Amazon, this strategy is paying anyway. As there is already reached in the Kindle eBooks with classical Kindle Fire means it can sell more content in digital format, including films and television series. "Customers buy a lot of content, is seen particularly in North America with sales of cultural goods between the fourth and first quarter which is accelerating," explains the chief financial officer, Tom Szkutak.

Throughout the quarter, according to figures released Thursday, sales of cultural goods on Amazon increased 19% to $ 4.71 billion, while sales of other goods and electronics surged 43 % to 7.97 billion. The good surprise came from the profit, down 35% over the same period last year (130 million), but well above analysts' expectations. Friday, the action progressed over 15% at the opening of the NYSE.

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In its most common meaning, the deductible is an amount of money that remains the responsibility of the insured in case of disaster or when the responsible person is not identified. This allowance is intended to:

The driver-responsibility by sharing the risk,

-Limit "small" claims, which are comparatively more expensive in terms of administrative costs,

-Allow the company to propose lower prices.

Namely: the deductible does not apply to third party victims, who are always fully reimbursed.

Application of the exemptions

Regarding auto insurance, there are also:

-Deductible mileage. It is home to a distance beyond which the automobile assistance benefits do not fire. For example, if the deductible mileage is 50 miles, the tow vehicle crashed 20 km from the residence of the insured will not be supported.

-The deductible on work incapacity or disability: it is the number of days of disability or a disability rate below which the personal guarantee of the driver does not play (eg, 10 days of disability or 5% disability).

Relief may take two forms. The franchise deductible amount is simply called a threshold. In this context, the insurer does not support the claim that if the amount exceeds the amount of the deductible. If he supports it, it's totally and no money is left in charge of the insured. For example, if the contract provides for a deductible of € 300, a loss of € 250 will not be supported, but a loss of € 500 will be fully reimbursed to the insured.

The corresponding absolute frankness about it in the most common case. This amount is borne by the insured in any case. Thus, if the deductible is € 300, a loss of € 700 will be repaid only € 400 to the insured.

Excess amounts

Some franchises are set by ministerial decree and therefore required all insurance companies. This is particularly the case of natural disaster deductible amount of € 380. In contrast, other franchises are freely set by the insurers.

Limit or eliminate the deductibles of an insurance contract is to actually buy them. Therefore, contributions and increase the gap between premium contract with deductible or no deductible up to 30%. The insured can choose its franchises in particular according to their driving habits.

Note: Franchise may be different from a guarantee to another. For example, in the same contract, the franchise glass breakage can be 250 €, but that of flight-fire guarantee of 750 €.

Thus, an insured person who never lends his vehicle can save money on their insurance premiums by choosing a franchise "ready to drive" high. Conversely, parents of a young driver may have an interest in buying the franchise "novice driver" time of his apprenticeship.

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Switzerland scored a point in the standoff that pitted him against Washington on banking secrecy. The Federal Administrative Court, one of the highest courts of Confederation, April 5 opposite end of inadmissibility to the IRS claimed that the transmission of names of clients of Credit Suisse, suspected of tax evasion. The judge considers that such data would be contrary to the bilateral tax treaty dating from 1996 and still in force. Switzerland is committed in March 2009, to comply with OECD standards for exchanging information that eliminate the distinction between fraud and tax evasion, but the new agreement, signed in June 2009 between the two countries, n has still not been ratified

.

Swiss court does not take into account an amendment to this agreement, voted on March 5 by the Swiss Parliament, which authorizes collective applications from the IRS. "The court decision complicates the government's position, who wants to reach an agreement with the United States," you recognize in Bern.

Three years after officially renounced its banking secrecy, Switzerland is still leading the fight to preserve the attractiveness of its financial center. She leads him on two fronts: against the United States where the Helvetic Confederation resists transfer of bank data, and at European level by negotiating tax agreements that preserve the anonymity of customers.

The precedent of the UBS case

This is the United States that the battle is the hardest. Beyond Credit Suisse, ten institutions are in the crosshairs of the IRS, with the implicit threat of removing banking licenses. In the case of UBS, who had come to shatter the secrecy in 2010, the Administrative Court had already refused the transfer of data. Until Parliament gives green light and ends in 5000 bank data delivered to U.S. authorities.

Switzerland is in a better position in negotiations with the EU, has always been divided on tax issues. If France calls for an end to bank secrecy, through the automatic exchange of information, other countries including Britain and Germany, Austria, Greece and the Netherlands are tempted to accept the Rubik agreements: a withholding "quick and effective" that pays billions to state coffers – $ 10 billion in Germany in exchange for preserving the anonymity of accounts.

So far, Switzerland has signed two agreements "Rubik" with Britain and Germany. Yet to pass the test of Parliaments. In Germany, the Bundesrat – Upper House – dominated by the Social Democrats could oppose a text "which guarantees the anonymity of fraudsters." His vote, expected in June, will be decisive for Switzerland.

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For Jardiland, spring is even more active this year. At the end of the most important commercial of the year, the second network of garden centers by turnover and number of stores (205 and 14 abroad) should welcome a new shareholder. Indeed, Batipart, the investment company of the family Ruggieri, who holds 35% stake in Jardiland, wishes, according to our information, disengage. Charles Ruggieri, who was among the players in the development of FDR and significant shareholder of Korian, has invested 122 million euros.

The Conte family that owns about 65% of it's famous sign is not in a position to buy such participation. Concerned about the future capital of the company, the family that controls the capital, however, commissioned in autumn 2010 Lazard to find a buyer for 35% stake in Batipart even to consider a global sale of the company , according to several sources. When asked, the president of Jardiland confirms the mandate of Lazard, but dismisses any idea of ​​surrender and advance another scenario: "We are seeking capital for our development, especially internationally," says Michel Conte, who hopes to complete Operation "before the end of the first half."

The option Truffaut

Contacts with LBO funds, however, reinforce the idea of ​​a significant operation in the capital. "Last year, twenty funds have shown interest Jardiland, this sleeping beauty. Four are still interested, PAI, Astorg Equistone and Axa Private Equity, "says a close case. The latter held the rope – appointment is made with the management Jardiland for mid-April – but nothing is signed yet.

Interested stumble over two problems: "these funds are all taking majority stakes, but the family would retain control Conte," said a relative of one of the funds short term personal loan. According to our information, the Director General, Guilhem Porcheron, was notably landed last October for trying to demonstrate that the wish of the family was unrealistic.

The other sticking point is the price. "Usually, we value the garden 6-7 times EBITDA (gross operating surplus, Ed), more than the DIY networks. However, in Jardiland, the cost reduction program has not given any results, "said another speaker in the folder. The ebitda of Jardiland fell last year, reaching about 30 million euros for a turnover of 811 million euros. "Jardiland worth about 350 million euros, but the value of the ticket to capital remains to be defined. For funds also, capital is scarce and they are very vigilant, "the source added.

The future of Jardiland is closely followed by all market participants. And especially Truffaut, Louis Delhaize Group subsidiary, which also holds the Cora hypermarkets and supermarkets Match. Reportedly, the sign of the family Bourriez, very present in the Ile-de-France, the file would look again. Truffaut had already considered, two years ago, to buy its rival, to cover the territory. "There is no proposed merger of any order between Truffaut and Jardiland," says one, however Truffaut. Same response in Jardiland. "Doing so much sense, but the family Bourriez only lacks the necessary funds. The sale of Cora in Hungary was partly necessary to repay some debts, "says a close family. Find the ideal candidate for Jardiland seems difficult.

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The Chinese do not like only the French luxury products, but also focus on the simplest of materials, like wood. Thursday, the National Federation of the wood (FNB) has protested against China's imports of logs, the logs were felled with cut branches but still covered with bark.

"Since 2007, Chinese imports of logs have soared, says Lawrence Denormandie, president of FNB. In 2008, China imported about 30,000 cubic meters of logs in French oak. In the first half of 2011, imports stood at 121,000 cubic meters. "

Log prices upward

Chinese companies import raw product, and then transform it into boards and furniture, which are then exported to Europe. China's economic growth partly explains the growing need for wood, but also points Denormandie Lawrence "the Chinese authorities' desire to protect their own resources." The fear comes mostly from the accelerated movement. "Currently 15% of the volume of oaks harvested in France go to China, as against only 6-7% just four years, warns douzain Nicolas-Didier, managing director of the FNB. For beech, the volumes exported to China account for 10 to 12% of production, against 5-6% previously. "

This phenomenon affects first sawmills. "These purchases push log prices upward," complains Julliot Dominique, president of the sawmills Together Châlonnais. FNB advances up 20% for oak and beech to 15% last year. "The difficulty in obtaining timber under normal conditions begin to threaten the supply of certain French sawmills," says Dominique Julliot.

"We want reciprocity agreements"

It then becomes difficult to invest in new machinery or upgrading facilities. Consequence: mill closures are accelerating. Between 2008 and 2010, their number decreased by almost 11% in the Hexagon.

"We do not require a cessation of exports, however, plays Lawrence Denormandie. We want reciprocity agreements. "China has implemented a series of import taxes, low on logs and becoming stronger as we get closer to the finished product, designed to protect domestic industries . There are none in Europe. "Quotas for export would not be a bad idea," says Lawrence Denormandie.

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The Center for Strategic Analysis (CAS) continues its investigation into "the writing to the digital time." After concentrating on last November in the print media, the agency decision support attached to the Prime Minister released Monday in conjunction with the Centre National du Livre (CNL) its first proposals to help "the players book chain to take the turn of the digital ". Chriqui for Vincent, CEO of CAS, digital is "both a promise of new developments in publishing and a threat, as a share of value could escape the small booksellers and publishers if one does not fix clear trade rules. "

"A strong drawback '

Its three notes of analysis devoted to authors and publishers, bookstores and public libraries, the CAS takes priority recommendations to develop the digital book in France. Also attractive prices – "Consumers clearly want a high-price discount paper" – Vincent Chriqui calls for a consolidation of the French distribution of digital book around a single platform. "There are three distribution platforms in France. Booksellers and readers are confused, and this can only help Amazon (the creator of the Kindle reading light, Ed) which has the richest supply, "he notes. Besides the platform that Decitre will also launch in early April payday lenders. To develop a "real market" – the digital book represents just 1% of book sales when it weighs 15% U.S. and 10% in Britain, the CAS also recommends better "interoperability" ie "the ability to download digital files of books on any model of reading lamp or shelf. But this is not the case today: the tablet Kindle does not give access to files in ePub format, for example, "he says. "We think this is an obstacle to the development of the digital book at the same time that interference with the principle of free competition," said Vincent Chriqui.

The institution does not neglect the booksellers, weakened. One objective of CAS is to support the "policy of multi-channel strategy-store sales and Web-traditional bookshops, to prevent leakage of customers to the Internet giants." The low profitability (between 0.6 and 2%) of the booksellers are not given because the means to invest. All of these proposals, which must also preserve "editorial diversity of the French edition" will be sent to the Government.

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