France is getting a major new international video game festival
Macron wants France to press Start on its very own gaming festival, just months after suggesting bans.
Gamescom in Cologne, Germany. By Hesham Elsherif/Anadolu via Getty Image
- Macron says France will create an international video game festival to promote gaming as culture.
- The festival’s timing and format have not been announced.
- Macron framed video games as part of France’s cultural identity, not just commercial products.
- France’s National Video Game Union says studies show no link between games and violence.
Key Takeaways by nexos.ai, reviewed by Cybernews staff.
President Emmanuel Macron of France aims to establish an international video game festival to share the industry’s creativity with the world.
“I am deeply convinced that video games are part of our culture and should, much like cinema and other forms of creative work, be included in the French cultural exception,” President Macron said in his opening speech at the Lumière Summit.
“To that end, we will create an international video game festival, conceived from the outset as a major global gathering for creativity, innovation, players, and the industry itself,” he continued.
“France’s major global video game successes highlight the richness of this creative output, an industry in its own right. We need to give this sector greater prominence and succeed in winning everyone's support,” President Macron concluded.
Macron refers to the “cultural exception,” the notion that video games shouldn’t be treated like any other commercial product.
Instead, video games should be considered part of France’s national identity and cultural diversity, worth protecting and promoting internationally.
The timing and format of the international video game festival remain to be announced.
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France has long been paying more attention to the cultural value of video games.
Last year, the French developer Sandfall Interactive, the creator of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, was praised for its global influence and received France’s highest cultural honor.
Macron also personally congratulated the developers on winning the Game of the Year award on Instagram.
At the same time, in February 2026, President Macron suggested he was in favor of introducing video game bans in France.
“When you spend hours watching a video game where you shoot everyone, including Fortnite... Cool. That’s not life. Because it derealizes the relationship with violence, and it conditions you. I am for families to play their role,” Macron said, according to Le Parisien.
The National Video Game Union responded by suggesting that “all the scientific studies that have been accumulating over the past 20 years show that there is no correlation between video games and violence.”
