Maxime Recoquillé

Relegated to tourism, the Southern European countries? Their resurgence proves otherwise. To overcome adversity, they have had to show agility and inventiveness. Here are four examples of individuals who have achieved remarkable success. The Italian Luca Ferrari, buys up and revitalises former internet icons. In Portugal, scientist Elvira Fortunato shines internationally thanks to her innovations in electronics.

The screen, in this meeting room in the Bourse district of Paris, looks like the homepage of Google. A search bar, two options: "advanced search", "bulk search". Eric Bourry, "architect" of ChapsVision's solutions, types the name of a fictitious person, imagined to be involved in a shady affair. Unlike the Mountain View firm, the software called ArgonOS does not produce a list of links: it weaves connections live in all directions. Who has this person called, who are their contacts' contacts?

It is nothing less than a geopolitical nightmare come true for a Europe highly dependent on American technology. The immediate withdrawal of the artificial intelligence model Fable 5, demanded by the Trump administration, which alarmed presidential hopefuls from Édouard Philippe to Jean-Luc Mélenchon, cannot be seen in any other light. But how many users will actually be penalised by Washington’s announcement? Let’s put things into perspective: very few, in principle.