L’édition 2025 de VivaTech ambitionne de rendre l’IA plus concrète

Les applications concrètes de l’intelligence artificielle dans le commerce, la santé ou la culture seront au coeur du salon VivaTech, plus grand événement européen de la tech qui aura lieu en juin à Paris, alors que le secteur est au coeur de vives tensions géopolitiques.  Pour sa 9e édition, le salon s’apprête à accueillir, du 11 au 14 juin à la Porte de Versailles,  14.000 start-up et plus de 3.000 investisseurs venus du monde entier, ont annoncé les organisateurs jeudi lors d’une conférence de presse.  VivaTech, qui s’attend à une affluence au moins égale à l’année précédente, soit 165.000 visiteurs, accueillera des représentants de 160 pays et 50 pavillons nationaux, avec le Canada comme pays mis à l’honneur. “Une sorte d’ONU de la tech”, a commenté Pierre Louette, PDG du groupe Les Echos – Le Parisien, co-organisateur de l’événement.Alors que le secteur se retrouve au coeur de la guerre commerciale amorcée par les Etats-Unis, des dirigeants européens ayant menacé jeudi de s’attaquer aux services numériques américains en réponse aux nouveaux droits de douane annoncés par Donald Trump, les organisateurs de VivaTech se sont voulus rassurants. “Malgré toutes les difficultés du monde, malgré les incertitudes et même les droits de douane, à VivaTech, on reste optimistes”, a déclaré son cofondateur Maurice Levy. “Au moment le plus violent de la crise entre la Chine et les Etats-Unis, où tout le monde considérait qu’il ne fallait pas inviter la Chine, nous avions invité les entreprises chinoises à s’exprimer”, a-t-il rappelé. “Il faut ouvrir le débat et être un lieu de discussion”. L’ambassadeur du Canada auprès de la France, Stéphane Dion, a lui souligné que, dans le contexte mondial actuel, le Canada entendait “redoubler d’efforts pour diversifier ses échanges économiques et être encore plus présent sur les marchés français et européens”. Plus d’une centaine d’entreprises canadiennes seront présentes, notamment dans le domaine de l’intelligence artificielle (IA) qui sera encore une fois la star du salon. Parmi les figures attendues se trouvent Mike Krieger de la start-up d’IA générative Anthropic, Alexandr Wang, de Scale AI, spécialisée dans l’annotation de données pour l’IA, et Arthur Mensh de la pépite française Mistral AI. Fidji Simo, patronne d’Instacart et membre du conseil d’administration d’OpenAI sera aussi présente tout comme Joe Tsai d’Alibaba, qui viendra parler des dernières innovations en termes d’IA du mastodonte chinois du e-commerce. Luxe, santé, commerce, industries créatives… “Les entreprises vont pouvoir voir de manière extrêmement concrète des solutions, des services qui vont transformer leur façon de travailler”, a détaillé pour l’AFP François Bitouzet, directeur général de VivaTech.Le programme comprend d’ailleurs des dirigeants français comme Bernard Arnault, patron du groupe de luxe LVMH, et Christel Heydemann, à la tête d’Orange. 

Myanmar’s junta chief arrives for Bangkok summit as quake toll surpasses 3,000

The head of Myanmar’s junta arrived in Bangkok on Thursday for a regional summit as the death toll from his country’s devastating earthquake passed 3,000.Min Aung Hlaing will join a BIMSTEC gathering — representing the seven littoral nations of the Bay of Bengal — where he will raise the response to Friday’s 7.7-magnitude quake. The junta chief arrived at Bangkok’s plush Shangri-La hotel, the venue for Friday’s summit, amid tight security, AFP journalists saw.Many nations have sent aid and teams of rescue workers to Myanmar since the quake but heavily damaged infrastructure and patchy communications — as well as a rumbling civil war — have hampered efforts.Myanmar has been engulfed in a brutal multi-sided conflict since 2021, when Min Aung Hlaing’s military wrested power from the civilian government of Aung San Suu Kyi.Following reports of sporadic clashes even after Friday’s quake, the junta joined its opponents on Wednesday in calling a temporary halt to hostilities to allow relief to be delivered.AFP journalists saw hectic scenes on Thursday in the city of Sagaing — less than 15 kilometres (nine miles) from the epicentre — as hundreds of desperate people scrambled for emergency supplies distributed by civilian volunteers.Roads leading to the city were packed with traffic, many of the vehicles part of aid convoys organised by civilian volunteers and adorned with banners saying where they had been sent from across Myanmar.- Situation ‘devastating’ -Destruction in Sagaing is widespread, with 80 percent of buildings damaged, 50 percent severely, UNDP resident representative for Myanmar Titon Mitra told AFP.”The situation is really devastating,” he said.Food markets are unusable and hospitals are overwhelmed by patients and structurally unsound, he said, with patients being treated outdoors in heat of 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit).”We have seen children, pregnant women, injured people there. There’s not enough medical supplies,” he said.”If you look at the overall impacted area, there’s possibly three million-plus that may have been affected.”Residents say they still face a lack of help nearly a week after the quake.”We have a well for drinking water but we have no fuel for the water pump,” Aye Thikar told AFP.”We also don’t know how long we will be without electricity,” she said.The 63-year-old nun has been helping distribute relief funds to those left without basic amenities.But many people are still in need of mosquito nets and blankets, and are forced to sleep outside by the tremors that either destroyed their homes or severely damaged them.”People passing by on the road have generously donated water and food to us. We rely solely on their kindness,” she said.- Eyes on summit -While Sagaing residents scrabbled for handouts of water and instant noodles, Min Aung Hlaing prepared to sit down for a gala dinner with fellow leaders at the $400-a-night Shangri-La hotel.The leaders of the seven-member BIMSTEC grouping — Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Thailand — will discuss trade, security and other issues, as Asia reels from US President Donald Trump’s swingeing new raft of tariffs.Host country Thailand has also proposed that the leaders issue a joint statement on the impact of the disaster when they meet on Friday — a week from the day the quake struck.Opposition groups and rights organisations have fiercely criticised Thailand’s decision to host Min Aung Hlaing, accusing him of war crimes in Myanmar’s brutal conflict.His attendance at the summit represents a diplomatic win for Myanmar’s isolated government as it breaks with a regional policy of not inviting junta leaders to major events.Thai foreign ministry spokesman Nikorndej Balankura defended the decision, saying that the kingdom had a “responsibility” as summit host to invite all the BIMSTEC leaders.Min Aung Hlaing’s arrival in the Thai capital came as a junta spokesperson said on Thursday that 3,085 deaths from the quake had been confirmed, with 341 people still missing and 4,715 injured.Bangkok, hundreds of kilometres from the quake’s epicentre, also suffered isolated damage.The death toll in the city has risen to 22, with more than 70 still unaccounted for at the site of a building collapse.A 30-storey skyscraper — under construction at the time — was reduced to a pile of rubble in a matter of seconds when the tremors hit, trapping dozens of workers.Rescuers are still scouring the immense pile of debris but the likelihood of finding more survivors is diminishing.burs-pdw/pbt

Rubio says US committed to NATO – but tells allies to spend more

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told nervous NATO members on Thursday that Washington remained committed to the alliance, but said they must agree to massively ramp up their spending targets for defence. President Donald Trump has rattled Europe by casting doubt on his willingness to defend all allies, and by reaching out to Russia over the war in Ukraine — before further raising tensions with his latest trade tariffs. “Some of this hysteria and hyperbole that I see in the global media and some domestic media in the United States about NATO is unwarranted,” Rubio said on his first visit to meet his NATO counterparts in Brussels. “President Trump’s made clear he supports NATO. We’re going to remain in NATO,” he said.Ahead of NATO’s June summit in The Hague, Trump has demanded that the alliance more than double its current spending target to five percent of GDP — more than any, including Washington, spend now.  “We do want to leave here with an understanding that we are on a pathway, a realistic pathway to every single one of the members committing and fulfilling a promise to reach up to five percent spending, and that includes the United States,” Rubio said.”No one expects you’re gonna be able to do this in one year or two. But the pathway has to be real,” Rubio said. He insisted that Trump was “not against NATO. He is against a NATO that does not have the capabilities that it needs to fulfil the obligations.”The words of reassurance will provide succour to allies, who are rushing in the meantime to show Washington they are stepping up. A string of European countries have announced steep increases in military budgets, with economic powerhouse Germany opening the way for a major splurge. “Great things are happening. Over the last couple of months, we literally see hundreds of billions of euros rolling in,” NATO chief Mark Rutte said. “So this is probably the biggest increase in defence spending here on the European side of NATO since the end of the Cold War,” he said. “But we still need more.”- No ‘sudden’ withdrawal -As Europe grapples with the threat from Russia, Trump’s administration has set the continent on edge by raising the prospect it could shift forces away to focus on other challenges like China. Officials have said that if Washington is planning a major shift away it needs to agree a clear timeline over years for Europe to fill the gaps left behind. “There are no plans for them to all of a sudden draw down their presence here in Europe,” Rutte said.”But we know that for America, being the superpower they are, they have to attend to more theatres than one. It’s only logical that you have that debate.”Europe is nervously eyeing Trump’s outreach to its number one nemesis Russia as he sidelines allies to press for a deal with Moscow to end the Ukraine war. Allies are pleading with Trump to stand strong against Moscow as he pushes for a partial ceasefire despite the warring sides trading accusations of ongoing strikes.He has cheered allies by menacing Putin with sanctions for dragging his feet,  but there are fears Trump may ultimately want to draw close to a country viewed as NATO’s main foe.”We have to admit that there is only one aggressor in this situation. This is Russia,” Lithuania’s Foreign Minister Kestutis Budrys said.  “Russia is a long-term, direct military threat to all NATO and to Ukraine, and for Ukraine, we need a just and long lasting peace,” he said.Meanwhile, Britain and France are spearheading talks on sending troops to Ukraine to shore up any deal Trump might strike. – Sidestepping tariff row? -Beyond NATO and Ukraine, Trump has also rocked allies by making territorial threats against Canada and Denmark, insisting that he will take over Greenland. Rubio was set to meet his Danish counterpart after tensions soared between the two sides following a visit by Vice President JD Vance to the territory.Foreign ministers largely looked to skirt the issue of a looming trade war after Trump’s hefty tariffs on allies, in particular the European Union.But some warned that economic disputes risked jeopardising NATO’s unity and its ability to strengthen itself. “It’s important to understand that we grow faster and better together, that if we want to build resources for a stronger defence, we need to have economic growth,” Norway’s Espen Barth Eide said.”Protectionism will not do us any good.”

Dollar, stocks sink as gold hits high on Trump tariffs

The dollar and equity markets tumbled Thursday after President Donald Trump’s latest tariffs salvo against countries worldwide, fanning a trade war that many fear will spark recession and ramp up inflation.The dollar slumped by as much as 2.6 percent versus the euro, its biggest intraday plunge in a decade, and suffered sharp losses also against the yen and British pound.On stock markets, Tokyo’s Nikkei briefly collapsed more than four percent and US futures plunged, with major sectors, including auto, luxury and banking, taking big hits.The Paris stock market led losses in Europe, with falls capped in London as Trump hit Britain less hard than the EU.Oil prices plummeted around 4.5 percent, while safe-haven gold hit a new peak of $3,167.84 an ounce.- Renewed rate cuts? -“Markets, unsurprisingly have reacted badly,” noted Richard Carter, head of fixed interest research at wealth manager Quilter. “(US) Treasury yields have fallen sharply, as investors take flight and look for safe haven assets. “This would suggest the Federal Reserve will need to put additional rate cuts on the table to look to prevent recession being triggered, but should it face inflation rising too, it is in somewhat of a bind,” Carter added.The panic came after the US president unveiled a blitz of harsher-than-expected levies aimed at countries he said had been “ripping off” the United States for years.The measures included a 34 percent tariff on world number two economy China, 20 percent on the European Union and 24 percent on Japan.A number of others will face specifically tailored tariff levels, and for the rest, Trump said he would impose a “baseline” tariff of 10 percent, including on Britain. Auto tariffs of 25 percent meanwhile kicked in Thursday.Investors are bracing for retaliatory measures, with governments making their anger clear.China vowed “countermeasures” and urged Washington to cancel the tariffs, while calling for dialogue. Japan said the move was “extremely regrettable” and could contravene World Trade Organization rules, while Taiwan described the levies as “highly unreasonable”. European Union chief Ursula von der Leyen called Trump’s announcement a “major blow to the world economy” but vowed the bloc was “prepared to respond”. And France said Brussels was “ready for a trade war” and plans to target online services in response.Thailand said it had a “strong plan” to handle the new US measures and hopes to negotiate a reduction, while Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney warned “we are going to fight these tariffs with counter measures”.Tokyo’s stock market pared its hefty drop but still ended down 2.8 percent, while Hong Kong, Sydney, Seoul, Manila, Mumbai, Shanghai and Singapore also fell. However, Wellington managed to eke out a small gain as New Zealand faced smaller tariffs.Vietnam’s stock exchange dived 7.8 percent after the country was hit with levies of almost 50 percent.Wall Street futures were also battered, with the Dow dropping two percent, the Nasdaq plunging more than three percent and the S&P 500 off 2.8 percent off.Treasury yields hit five-month lows — yields and prices go in opposite directions.- Key figures around 1045 GMT -Paris – CAC 40: DOWN 2.5 percent at 7,663.46 pointsFrankfurt – DAX: DOWN 2.2 percent at 21,893.87 London – FTSE 100: DOWN 1.5 percent at 8,481.92 Tokyo – Nikkei 225: DOWN 2.8 percent at 34,735.93 (close)Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: DOWN 1.5 percent at 22,849.81 (close)Shanghai – Composite: DOWN 0.2 percent at 3,342.01 (close)New York – Dow: UP 0.6 percent at 42,225.32 (close)Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1070 from $1.0814 on WednesdayPound/dollar: UP at $1.3171 from $1.2985Dollar/yen: DOWN at 146.69 yen from 149.39 yenEuro/pound: UP at 84.09 pence from 83.33 penceWest Texas Intermediate: DOWN 4.6 percent at $68.40 per barrelBrent North Sea Crude: DOWN 4.4 percent at $71.67 per barrel

ONG, syndicats, et associations lancent une campagne pour défendre les services publics

Une importante coalition d’ONG, de syndicats et de collectifs d’agents publics ont lancé jeudi le Printemps des services publics, une campagne nationale pour affirmer que la “démocratie est au moins autant menacée par un délitement des services publics que par une offensive militaire”.”Aucune urgence ne justifie d’abîmer un peu plus des services publics déjà mis à mal. Nos services publics valent bien plus que leur seul coût financier”, peut-on notamment lire dans un appel commun enjoignant à ne pas choisir “entre les enjeux de sécurité et la reconstruction des services publics”.  Parmi les signataires, on retrouve notamment les secrétaires générales de la CGT et de la CFDT, Sophie Binet et Marylise Léon, des ONG comme Oxfam, Attac, ou Médecins du Monde, le Syndicat de la magistrature (SM), le Syndeac (employeurs des entreprises artistiques et culturelles, premier syndicat du secteur public), et également des citoyens et des intellectuels, comme l’économiste Gabriel Zucman.Le lancement de cette campagne, prévue pour s’étaler jusqu’au mois de juin, intervient “dans un contexte d’attaques renouvelées des services publics partout dans le monde, de manière violente et frappante aux Etats-Unis, mais aussi en France”, a affirmé pendant une conférence de presse Arnaud Bontemps, fonctionnaire à la Cour des comptes et porte-parole du collectif Nos services publics, à l’origine de l’événement.”On ne peut pas opposer la sécurité et la reconstruction des services publics”, a-t-il poursuivi, disant vouloir “réaffirmer le sens de l’impôt et des cotisations sociales”, lui qui voit dans “l’assèchement des finances publiques (…) l’une des causes du déclin des services publics”. A ses côtés notamment, l’une des secrétaires nationales du Syndicat de la magistrature, Manon Lefebvre, a déploré des “logiques néolibérales” à l’oeuvre dans le service public de la justice et qui provoquent la “casse de l’institution judiciaire”. Éducation, justice, culture, santé… De nombreux événements autour des services publics, en particulier des rencontres et des débats, mais aussi des rendez-vous festifs, sont prévus en France d’avril à juin. Le site internet du Printemps des services publics en recensait jeudi plus d’une vingtaine. 

India eyes opportunity despite Trump tariffs hit

India reacted cautiously on Thursday to US President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs, with the government saying it was examining both “implications” and “opportunities” from the duty hikes.Indian stocks fell at the open of trading on Thursday, with the benchmark Nifty index trading more than 0.3 percent down in the afternoon. Trump, speaking while unveiling the tariffs at the White House on Wednesday, said Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi was a “great friend” but that he had not been “treating us right”.India’s Department of Commerce said on Thursday it is “carefully examining the implications of the various measures”. It also added in a statement that it was “studying the opportunities that may arise due to this new development”, a likely reference to regional competitors being hit harder.An initial White House chart revealing the tariffs listed India at 26 percent but an annexe cited by New Delhi put the duties at 27 percent.Indian exporters said they were disappointed and relieved in equal measure.”The tariffs slapped on India are definitely both high and higher than expected, which will hurt demand for our exports,” Ajay Sahai, director general of the Federation of Indian Export Organisations, told AFP.But Sahai also pointed out that India was hit with lower levies than manufacturing rivals.”Many countries which we compete with globally, including China, Indonesia, and Vietnam etc, have been hit harder than us,” he said.”That opens up space for us to gain in terms of market share. But at the same time, if more countries retaliate and global trade gets hurt, this isn’t good for anyone.”- ‘Competitive advantage’ -A White House fact sheet said that pharmaceutical goods would be exempt from the reciprocal tariffs, providing relief to an Indian industry that shipped more than $8 billion in exports to the United States in the 2024 fiscal year.Indian Pharmaceutical Alliance secretary general Sudarshan Jain said that showed “the critical role of cost-effective, life-saving generic medicines in public health, economic stability, and national security”.New Delhi is also in the process of negotiating the first tranche of a bilateral trade agreement with Washington.India sought to reduce trade tensions with Washington in the run-up to Trump’s “Liberation Day” announcement by cutting tariffs on some products, including high-end motorcycles and whisky.Experts say that India’s future policy responses should also take into account China’s next steps.”Asia has been hit much more than India on tariffs,” said Madhavi Arora, chief economist at Emkay Global Financial Services.”China’s survival response to the massive tariff blow will matter for India, amid its excess industrial capacity and dumping in the world/Asian markets.”Global Trade Research Initiative, a New Delhi-based think tank, said the tariff shakeup “presents an opportunity for India to strengthen its position in global trade and manufacturing”.It said India had been handed a “competitive advantage” in several key sectors, highlighting textiles and garments, with Chinese and Bangladeshi rivals hit by high tariffs.