The European leader in bicycles, Accell Group, was officially declared bankrupt by an Amsterdam court on August 11, 2026. This collapse has led to the loss of jobs for 340 employees and has also resulted in the bankruptcy of well-known brands like Batavus, Sparta, Koga, and the French Lapierre. In the wake of this collapse, the Dutch platform Auctivo is now auctioning the entire stock of Accell's experience center in Ede, Netherlands. The sale includes all the bicycles on display, as well as the furniture from meeting rooms and offices. In France, the company CactUs Lock, known for its anti-theft bicycle locks that emit a cadaver-like odor when tampered with, was founded by chemical engineer Aïko Leroux from Lyon. Despite achieving over 1,000 sales in a year, the company has entered judicial reorganization, a legal process to manage debt, initiated by a commercial court in Romans on July 29, 2026. According to Leroux, the cause is partly linked to its appearance on the television show "Qui veut être mon associé?" which failed to generate the expected traffic despite a large stock of products. "The aftermath of the show has been tragic for us," she said. François Lenglet, an economic editorialist on RTL, shared his experience of a 700 km journey to the Ventoux in an electric car, which turned into a challenge due to long waits for charging. His account reflects a common belief that charging an electric vehicle beyond 80% can damage the battery. However, recent research suggests that it's not the act of charging to full that harms lithium NMC or NCA batteries, but rather keeping them at 100% for several days. A recent comparison by the German magazine IMTEST of 16 solar storage batteries revealed that the Anker Solix Solarbank 4 Pro performed best, with a usable capacity of 4,851 Wh, slightly less than the advertised 5,024 Wh. The difference was much greater for the Hoymiles HiBattery 4020X, which had a 14.7% gap between advertised and actual capacity. This issue has become more relevant since June 2026, when EDF stopped buying surplus solar power at 1.1 cents per kilowatt-hour, compared to 13 cents previously. As a result, storing solar energy has become more profitable than selling it. On July 22, French Transport Minister Philippe Tabarot refused to approve Tesla's Full Self-Driving (FSD) system, stating that the safety benefits were not yet sufficient. However, a few weeks later, he expressed support for the approval after a "constructive exchange" with Elon Musk on X. The system remains classified as level 2, where the driver is still fully responsible. Several European countries, including the Netherlands, have already approved such systems, starting in the spring of 2026.