Slashdot Mirror

Under the new law, if Slashdot didn't pay then they will be liable for up to €300,000 fine for each link. Tout le monde doit payer

Phillip.

Indeed, there are more details here about it. Apparently Google passes on 4 billion click-throughs per month... methinks traffic would drop for those papers quite significantly if they got de-indexed. Under the new law, if any of those click-throughs fail to compensate the owner then there is up to €300,000 fine for each.

Phillip.

There is a little more in this blog post that gives a bit more info. Google doesn't summarise the article, it prints an except of the original. The government and the newspapers are "shocked" that Google could object to the new law, despite the fact it would probably put them out of business.

Phillip.

UK is very different to France also. I am the only person I know here that doesn't drink and drive, having been brainwashed by the stigma whilst in the UK. The police did a check down the end of my road here in Nice and over 80% of drivers were found to be well over the limit. On a Monday. Just yesterday some drunk driver drove his Ferrari right into the sea, and this is just a normal occurrence. The girls are worse than the guys, as they will quite happily finish most of a bottle of vodka and not be able to walk to their car without falling over several times before driving home.

Phillip.

They are popping up all over Nice in France. The question was asked what happens if you have to move out of the way of an ambulance. The reply was tough luck, get still get a fine and have to pay it. Down here it's just seen as easy money. Also they tend to flash even if you are not moving. It happens if you happen to just roll your wheels an inch over the line and are stationary.

Phillip.

You mean like how the company persecuting file-sharing happens to be run by the friend of the President's wife?

Phillip.

From what I've read in the local Nice newspaper, Véronique Paquis in the Department for Ecology is setting up "zapa" zones in Paris, Lyon, and Grenoble where high emission cars such as SUVs and old diesel cars will be banned. Other towns, such as Nice, are also applying for the scheme (must submit proposal by December 31st). These towns will then have internal debates to select the best zones for the trial. It will not apply to the whole city but to 'sensitive' areas.

Nice is same as Paris, they are buying 200 electric cars which you can just pick up and drop off like the bicycles.

Phillip.

It's not just Paris, it's also Aix-en-Provence, Grenoble and Lyon. Also Nice wants to be in the trial. There is a massive ecological drive going on in France. Electric tramway systems are replacing buses, parks are being built in dense urban areas, charging stations are being built into car parks for electric cars, you can get free or cheap bike rental on every corner, and every house can have free solar panels on the roof (but for the first decade you have to sell electricity back to the grid). Every public park in my town now has to be pesticide free. It's all about raising quality of life.

Phillip.

I think cars that are not moving are probably the least dangerous kind. And the city of Nice is about to be littered with speed and traffic light cameras. However speed and traffic light cameras are pretty obvious, CCTV cameras aren't. The former are automatic so you know it's nothing personal, whereas the latter you know there is a person on the other end spying on you.

If the trade-off for losing privacy is the police might catch the person that just mugged you that is one thing. If it's so you can be penalised for picking up your laundry it's another.

Phillip.

It sounds like a lot of work, and very lucrative. Just as well the cash goes to the good friend of the wife of the President.

Phillip.

Why Trident Media Guard? Read my blog post here:
http://www.rivierareview.com/articles/france-starts-persecuting-internet-users/

Phillip.

Also cheap flights if you stand up the whole journey. Actually I would be quite tempted at the proposed £5, I spent years standing 3hrs a day on crappy English commuter trains and paid about €4k per year for the privilege.

Phillip.