After initially blaming video games for the wave of riots that swept France earlier this year, French President Emmanuel Macron has made a surprising about-face on his position towards video games. Macron has made an unexpected about-face, praising video games as an integral part of French culture and described them as an artistic, athletic, entertaining, and inspirational resource for the young people of France.
After the unfortunate police shooting of 17-year-old Nahel Merzouk in the Parisian district of Nanterre in June, Macron had harshly criticised video games, equating them to the turmoil that followed. Macron blamed video games, saying they played a “considerable role” in the unrest, after protests and riots broke out across the country.
According to a quote from the time, French President Emmanuel Macron said, “We sometimes have the feeling that some of them [rioters] are living in the streets of the video games that have intoxicated them.”
On the other hand, the French president recently tweeted his views on video games on X (previously known as Twitter). In his current outlook, he sees gamers as “storytellers” and highlights video games as art, sport, and entertainment, arguing that they encourage young people to express their imagination and creativity.
Macron tweeted, “Video games are a fundamental part of French culture.” “Video games provide pathways to success in the workplace and in life by not just producing champions but also engineers, developers, designers, and artists. The business world motivates, encourages optimism, and fosters development.
Macron explained that his June comments weren’t about video games per say, but rather about how certain people were exploiting in-game codes to make light of violent content online.
“It is this violence that I condemn, not video games,” he stressed.
With his newfound respect for the medium, Macron has lauded video games for their contributions to the French economy and their status as vibrant cultural and social hubs. He praised the work of French developers like Ubisoft Bordeaux’s Assassin’s Creed and Ankama Studio’s Dofus.
“Video games provide pathways to success in the workplace and in life by not just producing champions but also engineers, developers, designers, and artists. The business world motivates, encourages optimism, and fosters development. Emmanuel Macron repeated.
Nahel Merzouk, a 17-year-old French delivery driver of Moroccan and Algerian heritage, was killed by a police officer in Nanterre, sparking the riots that Macron had initially linked to video games. Videos of protest violence, including clashes with police and arson, filled social media.
Previously, Macron had accused social media and video games for “intoxicating” French youth and stoking the riots. He has now called on these platforms to delete such content.
But with this latest speech, President Macron has changed his mind, promising to back the video gaming industry, championing talent and pushing for more diversity in the creative industries. It seems like Macron has had a dramatic change of heart about the possibilities of video games, now seeing their positive impact on French culture, the economy, and young people.
