Web Browsing: Challenging Task for Visually Impaired People in France

A woman uses a computer keyboard in this photo illustration taken in Sydney June 23, 2011. (Reuters)
A woman uses a computer keyboard in this photo illustration taken in Sydney June 23, 2011. (Reuters)
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Web Browsing: Challenging Task for Visually Impaired People in France

A woman uses a computer keyboard in this photo illustration taken in Sydney June 23, 2011. (Reuters)
A woman uses a computer keyboard in this photo illustration taken in Sydney June 23, 2011. (Reuters)

Browsing the internet in France is challenging for the blind and visually impaired people, as most websites are not adapted to the special needs of this type of users, according to Agence France Press (AFP).

Considered essential tools in our daily life, the digital services provided by the public sector and private firms should be accessible for all people, including those suffering from physical, visual, and hearing impairments. However, the loose accountability made few services commit to these features.

Around 70,000 blind, and 1.5 million visually impaired people in France are supposed to have access to audio reading of texts appearing on the screen, description of images, and instructions about the boxes they need to fill. Given that visually impaired and blind people are unable to see the place indicated by the mouse cursor, they can use the keyboard’s shortcuts.

“I can’t see the entire page, so I hear its content gradually,” said Manuel Pereira, head of digital accessibility at the Valentin Haÿe Association.

But this complex process could stop any minute if the box isn’t coded adequately.

For instance, when a blind person places an order online, they could make all the required steps, but “suddenly reach an uncoded box” that could disrupt the whole process and undermine all their efforts when hearing the sentence “fill the box” without knowing “whether they should insert the name, address, or click approve,” explained Pereira.

“One box of this kind is enough to prevent us from using the whole website,” he added.

Websites should share a statement that describes their compliance level to the public accessibility standards in the bottom of their homepage. A website with a 100 percent compliance rate is “conform”, under 50 percent is “not conform”, and between 50 and 100 percent is “partly conform”. The compliance rate of the Élysée Palace, for example, is 74 percent, the Ameli health insurance website is 72 percent, while the national rail website is only 54 percent.



‘Assassin’s Creed’ Maker Ubisoft Says Regularly Reviews Options after Buyout Report

This photograph taken on February 13, 2024, shows logo of Ubisoft video firm company adorn the main entrance of the company, where a strike call is planned on February 14, 2024, in Montpellier, south of France. (AFP)
This photograph taken on February 13, 2024, shows logo of Ubisoft video firm company adorn the main entrance of the company, where a strike call is planned on February 14, 2024, in Montpellier, south of France. (AFP)
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‘Assassin’s Creed’ Maker Ubisoft Says Regularly Reviews Options after Buyout Report

This photograph taken on February 13, 2024, shows logo of Ubisoft video firm company adorn the main entrance of the company, where a strike call is planned on February 14, 2024, in Montpellier, south of France. (AFP)
This photograph taken on February 13, 2024, shows logo of Ubisoft video firm company adorn the main entrance of the company, where a strike call is planned on February 14, 2024, in Montpellier, south of France. (AFP)

Ubisoft, the maker of the "Assassin's Creed", "Far Cry" and "Watch Dogs" video games, said on Monday it regularly reviewed "all its strategic options", but declined further comment on a recent report of buyout interest.

France's largest video games maker has long been seen as a takeover target and has lost half of its stock market value over the last twelve months. It has been plagued by delays and the underperformance of some of its key titles.

Ubisoft said in a statement that it would inform the market if and when appropriate. A spokesperson for the company declined to comment further when asked by Reuters whether the company had received any approach from potential bidders.

Monday's statement followed a report last week by Bloomberg News that Ubisoft's founding family, the Guillemots, and Chinese tech giant Tencent, were considering a buyout.

Shares in Ubisoft initially rose by up to 6% on Monday after the statement, topping the SBF 120 index, but reversed course and were down 1.8% at 0905 GMT.

The Guillemot family and Tencent together hold close to 25% of Ubisoft's share capital, LSEG data shows, after a deal in 2022 that saw the Chinese group acquire close to half of the Guillemots' holding.

The move capped a difficult period at Ubisoft, marked by a succession of delays of new video games and management changes.

Ubisoft's stock price slipped further last month after weaker-than-expected quarterly sales.

An underwhelming start for its new game "Star Wars Outlaws" followed the postponement of the launch of "Assassin’s Creed Shadows" by three months to February.

Ubisoft had hoped the two games would help turn around its performance as it implements cost cuts to manage its debt.