LONDON: Facebook has opened its new London office and said it will create 800 high-tech jobs in the UK over the next year, demonstrating its commitment to the country as it prepares to leave the EU.
The new office will also feature an incubator space called LDN-LAB aimed at supporting UK-based tech startups.
The selected companies will take part in three-month programs where they will work with Facebook experts in areas such as engineering or product development to kickstart their businesses.
“Today’s announcements show that Facebook is more committed than ever to the UK and in supporting the growth of the country’s innovative startups,” said Nicola Mendelsohn, vice-president of Facebook EMEA.
More than 2,300 people are expected to be working for Facebook in the UK by the end of 2018. Over half of those in the London hub will be focused on engineering, ensuring the office will be Facebook’s biggest hub outside of the US.
Facebook’s UK plans will be welcome news to those concerned about London losing its appeal as a technological and financial hub following Brexit.
“It is great to see a world-leading company like Facebook continuing to invest in London’s renowned tech ecosystem, despite the uncertainties surrounding Brexit,” said Julia David, CEO of techUK.
“Large businesses are key to supporting innovation and we are excited to see what becomes of the startups that can grow and scale as a result of this endeavour. The message is clear: London is open, and tech is the flag bearer.”
The office, which opened on Monday, is based at Rathbone Place in London’s West End and is built across 247,000 square-feet and has seven floors.
The opening of the London operations follows the opening of Facebook’s new Middle East HQ in Dubai on Oct. 27. The 20,000-square-foot regional hub is part of the company’s commitment to expanding further into the Middle East and North African markets. The Dubai office has more than 60 employees. Facebook first launched a local presence in the MENA region in 2012 and since then it has grown its regional user base by 264 percent and has around 164 million monthly active people using its site from the region.
“With its strong business ecosystems, regional connectivity, and access to the best global talent, Dubai and the UAE remain the right place for us to call home in the region.
“We are only 1 percent finished in our journey here, and we are excited about what lies ahead in this young, connected, and mobile-first region,” Jonathan Labin, Facebook’s managing director for the Middle East, North Africa and Pakistan, said at the time of the launch.
Staff working in the Dubai office will be able to work from a treadmill desk, take selfies from an “Instagram anti-gravity room” or admire works by Emirati artist Eman Al-Hashemi.
Facebook to bring 800 more jobs to London as new office unveiled
Facebook to bring 800 more jobs to London as new office unveiled
Paris exhibition marks 200 years of Le Figaro and the enduring power of the press
- The exhibition celebrated the bicentennial of Le Figaro, offering visitors a rare opportunity to step inside the newspaper’s vast historical archive
PARIS: One of France’s most influential newspapers marked a major milestone this month with a landmark exhibition beneath the soaring glass nave of the Grand Palais, tracing two centuries of journalism, literature and political debate.
Titled 1826–2026: 200 years of freedom, the exhibition celebrated the bicentennial of Le Figaro, offering visitors a rare opportunity to step inside the newspaper’s vast historical archive. Held over three days in mid-January, the free exhibition drew large crowds eager to explore how the title has both chronicled and shaped modern French history.
More than 300 original items were displayed, including historic front pages, photographs, illustrations and handwritten manuscripts. Together, they charted Le Figaro’s evolution from a 19th-century satirical publication into a leading national daily, reflecting eras of revolution, war, cultural change and technological disruption.
The exhibition unfolded across a series of thematic spaces, guiding visitors through defining moments in the paper’s past — from its literary golden age to its role in political debate and its transition into the digital era. Particular attention was paid to the newspaper’s long association with prominent writers and intellectuals, underscoring the close relationship between journalism and cultural life in France.
Beyond the displays, the program extended into live journalism. Public editorial meetings, panel discussions and film screenings invited audiences to engage directly with editors, writers and media figures, turning the exhibition into a forum for debate about the future of the press and freedom of expression.
Hosted at the Grand Palais, the setting itself reinforced the exhibition’s ambition: to place journalism firmly within the country’s cultural heritage. While the exhibition has now concluded, the bicentennial celebrations continue through special publications and broadcasts, reaffirming Le Figaro’s place in France’s public life — and the enduring relevance of a free and questioning press in an age of rapid change.
