Macron Announces International Video Game Festival, Eyes a “Cannes for Games”
French President Emmanuel Macron announced on 7 September 2026 that France will create an international video game festival, framing games as part of the country’s “cultural exception” alongside cinema.
The timing is not accidental: it follows the global breakout of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, a debut title from Montpellier studio Sandfall Interactive that became one of the most decorated and commercially successful French games ever made.
The announcement came at Sommet Lumière in Saint-Paul-de-Vence, a gathering focused on the future of cinema and the moving image. Macron described the planned event as “a great worldwide rendezvous of creation, innovation, players and industry,” and said video games “are part of our culture.” He wants the festival conceived from the start as a Cannes- or Angoulême-scale platform rather than another consumer trade show.
So far, there’s no confirmed organizer, budget, program format, or official date announced. According to BFMTV, Montpellier is the frontrunner to host a first edition as early as summer 2027. That makes sense on paper. The city already hosts Ubisoft Montpellier, Blue Twelve of Stray fame, Sandfall itself, several major schools, and large existing events like ZEvent and ZLAN. Officials have reportedly reached out to the city, but the Élysée hasn't formally committed to a location.
Macron’s term ends in spring 2027, so any first edition would likely fall to a successor government. France isn't starting from zero either. Paris Games Week, Game Connection, and a bunch of local events already exist on the calendar.
The industrial backdrop is substantial. Industry estimates put the sector at about 575 to 616 studios, with around 10,000 to 15,000 people involved in core development and publishing. The French consumer market reached about €4 billion in recent years, making games the country’s largest cultural industry by revenue.
Public tools already include the Crédit d’impôt jeu vidéo (30% of eligible production costs, capped at €6 million per company per year, extended to 2031) and the Fonds d’aide au jeu vidéo. Expedition 33 itself received pre-production support from the FAJV.
The Expedition 33 effect
Sandfall Interactive was founded during the pandemic by Guillaume Broche, a former Ubisoft developer. Expedition 33, published by Kepler Interactive, was released on April 24, 2025, for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series, and PC. This turn-based RPG with real-time action was loved by people and sold 8 million copies by its first anniversary in April 2026.
Awards followed the same pattern. At The Game Awards 2025, it received a record 13 nominations and won nine, including Game of the Year, the most wins by any title in the show’s history. It also swept or dominated Golden Joystick, D.I.C.E., Game Developers Choice, and BAFTA categories (Best Game and Debut Game among them). France’s Ministry of Culture later decorated the team. A live-action adaptation is already in development.
Macron congratulated the studio twice in 2025: after the early sales surge (“one of the highest-rated games in history, and yes, it’s French”) and after the Game Awards sweep (“a historic first for a French title”). Those messages are the immediate political context for the festival speech.
A relationship that hasn't always been smooth
Macron's history with gaming culture has some real turbulence in it. Back in June 2022, he hosted esports figures at the Élysée, played on camera with streamer ZeratoR, and promised a "new era" of support along with major events on French soil. He went on to back clubs like Karmine Corp, Team Vitality, and Gentle Mates, floated the idea of a national esports team, and an Esports 2026-2030 strategy eventually followed, including education-track proposals for competitive players.
Then June 2023 happened. After the police shooting of 17-year-old Nahel Merzouk sparked riots, Macron said some rioters seemed to be "living out, in the streets, the video games that have intoxicated them," grouping games with social media as amplifiers of violence. That landed badly. Players and developers pushed back hard, including Tekken director Katsuhiro Harada.
By mid-September 2023, Macron posted a lengthy clarification, opening with "I startled the gamers." He said he'd always viewed games as an opportunity for France's youth, jobs, and economy, and clarified that what he'd condemned was violence itself and the way game-like codes were being used on Snapchat and TikTok to trivialize it, not gaming as a medium. He called games culture, entertainment, spectacle, and a meeting point for all the arts, and promised continued support for the industry and its events.
Since that clarification, the official posture has stayed firmly supportive. Congratulations for Expedition 33, a decoration for its team, continued esports diplomacy, hosting an Esports World Cup, and now a festival pitched as cultural policy on par with cinema. The 2023 controversy hasn't disappeared from the record, but it hasn't derailed the relationship either.
Whether this festival turns into a true Cannes for games or just fades into an underfunded speech will depend entirely on Macron.
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