At the Lumière Summit, President Emmanuel Macron warned that YouTube, TikTok, AI advances and industry consolidation are reshaping the entertainment landscape and threatening France's cultural model. He urged multilateral engagement to make platforms like YouTube contribute to local-content financing and called for AI transparency and stronger IP protections. Macron also defended expanded international tax credits and France 2030 investments, and cautioned that political change could endanger the CNC-backed "exception culturelle."
Macron Urges YouTube To Help Finance Local Content, Warns Platforms and AI Threaten France's Cultural Model
French President Emmanuel Macron Calls on YouTube to Finance Content and Warns of Growing Threat to Cultural Model (EXCLUSIVE)
At the Lumière Summit in Saint-Paul-de-Vence, French President Emmanuel Macron warned that the rapid rise of platforms such as YouTube and TikTok, advances in artificial intelligence and growing media consolidation are disrupting the global entertainment ecosystem and posing a threat to France's cultural model.
Speaking to Variety at the Fondation Maeght, which he co-chaired with South Korean President Lee Jae Myung, Macron singled out YouTube's growing reach—outperforming Netflix in more than 20 markets—as a particular concern. He said the platform should be brought into the same regulatory and financial framework as major streamers so it contributes to financing local production.
Call For Platform Responsibility
Macron urged multilateral engagement with global platforms to encourage them to support "local content," foster creativity and respect creators' rights. He argued that platforms that divert audiences away from traditional channels should also share responsibility for financing production and protecting authors.
"YouTube is very efficient. It's de facto the default platform in a lot of countries for a lot of people... they divert a lot of people from these platforms or the big channels where a lot of money is invested in creation." — Emmanuel Macron
AI, Transparency And Intellectual Property
Macron — a vocal backer of French AI firms and of EU-level AI regulation — said France wants to compete in AI by expanding computing capacity, data centers and European models. At the same time, he insisted technological ambition must be paired with robust intellectual property protections and clear transparency: AI-produced content should be clearly flagged to preserve trust in creative work, science and democratic institutions.
Industry Consolidation And Commitments
On media consolidation, Macron discussed the EU review of the proposed Paramount-Skydance/Warner deal, saying he supported the companies' commitments to invest and produce in Europe. He emphasized that a continued studio presence in France and Europe matters for jobs, investment and theatrical exhibition.
Protecting The French Cultural Model
With his second term ending in May, Macron highlighted policy tools he believes must survive beyond 2027: strengthened international tax credits (now including above-the-line costs) and strategic investments under the France 2030 plan that have expanded studio infrastructure and attracted international shoots. He warned that political shifts could jeopardize the CNC-backed "exception culturelle," a decades-old system that redistributes levies on cinema admissions to fund local production and support independent creators.
Macron framed defense of France's cultural policy as both an economic and soft-power priority: preserving diverse creators, protecting rights and investing publicly to keep French cinema and culture vibrant on the world stage.
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