- Google: To quote one reader: “it feels like all you do is talk about Google these days?” It’s true that, as one of the largest multinational tech companies operating in France, and the most visited website in France, it’s no surprise that Google was the subject of nearly 50 articles this past year. Whether they are launching new products in France that outperform local competitors, or whether their fightinng the government (twice!), Google seemed to be quite active in France this past year. Hopefully 2013 will be the year they build a Berlin- or London-sized tech hub in Paris, though I doubt it.
- Facebook: Just one of the many tech companies subject to the French tax authority’s prying eyes, Facebook has become the platform of choice for French tech startups, and even for large companies like Orange. And of course, the whole world shook its head in disappoint as France was the butt of an Onion.com-sized misunderstanding, as the CNIL accused Facebook of revealing user’s private information after French users mistook their years-old wall posts as private messages. That debacle cleared up quietly and quickly, but was hilariously nonetheless
- LeWeb: While LeWeb Paris has always garnered a high-level attention, it was clear this year that LeWeb was looking to grow a year-’round presence in the media world. Between LeWeb Paris & the first ever LeWeb London, all the LeWeb Google+ Hangouts & LeWeb’s recent acquisition by Reed MIDEM, it’s no shocker that Paris’ largest web event was well-represented in Rude Baguette’s articles.
- Orange: Orange had a mix review of press this past year. While it seems to be the only mobile operator untouched by Free Mobile’s launch in the beginning of the year, they also took quite a beating from competitor’s SFR & Bouygues, likely because it was Orange who supplied parent company Iliad with the network it needed to launch its price-slashing numbers. Nevertheless, Orange stayed strong throughout the year, and its announcements this year channeled a Steve Job’s in atmosphere, and put them back on the offensive.
- Twitter: Rumors circulated all year about Twitter’s arrival in France, with even the Mayor of Paris promising they’d arrive in Spring of 2013. Readers finally got confirmation just last month when the official subsidiary showed up in the public French company database. Frankly, it’s surprising and telling of the difficulties for companies to set up shop in France, given that Paris is one of the largest cities on Twitter.
The runners up in trends are quite noteworthy as well – Apple / iPhone likely placed lower on Rude Baguette than they did on any other tech site this year. Amazon‘s opening of two new logistics centers in France, as well as that $252 M tax bill they received put them on our radar. SFR lost more than just a CEO & one of their more expensive Paris real estates, it lost a couple hundred thousand clients as well to Free Mobile. LeCamping & its companies also got a fair amount of love on Rude Baguette.
We also published the Top 5 most read articles of 2012 – check it out here!
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