This proves that a boom in the gaming industry can be achieved if national leaders are willing to support it.

One of the biggest hits of 2025 was Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, a French JRPG that sold millions of copies, won numerous awards, and received recognition—not once, but twice—from French President Emmanuel Macron. The game made an even bigger impression on Macron than initially thought, as he announced over the weekend that France will host a new international gaming festival. He made the announcement during a speech at the Lumière Summit, a conference where governments, companies, creators, and cultural institutions collaborate on the future of cinema and film artistry.

Although Macron didn’t mention Clair Obscur by name, it was certainly on his mind. Currently, there isn’t a more prominent French game than this one. There are plenty of other great games made in France. Ubisoft, based in Saint-Mandé, France, produces many of them. There’s also the A Plague Tale series, Rematch, Jusant, Chants of Sennaar, Sifu, Stray, and Another World.

Il y a 130 ans, la France faisait naître le cinéma.

Aujourd’hui, le cinéma, les séries, l’animation et les jeux vidéo sont bien plus que des industries : ils sont des biens communs qui façonnent nos imaginaires et nous relient par-delà les frontières.

Mais jamais ces biens…

— Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) September 6, 2026

“One hundred and thirty years ago, France gave birth to cinema. Today, film, television, animation, and video games are more than just industries; they are cultural touchstones that shape our imaginations and connect us across borders. However, these common goods have never undergone such profound upheavals. We have entered a new era of image-making and creation, with artificial intelligence pushing the boundaries. Platforms are changing our habits. Funding models are being reinvented. Our children are growing up in an unprecedented flood of images. Faced with challenges that know no borders, no nation can act alone.

That is why France and South Korea, two nations committed to cultural diversity and sovereignty, are bringing together creators, producers, financiers, distributors, innovators, and decision-makers in Saint-Paul-de-Vence, France. Our ambition is to forge new alliances between creators and technologies, as well as between public and private actors, cinema, television, platforms, and video games. We want this revolution to open up new possibilities without homogenizing our imaginations. Create. Protect those who create. Circulate works and ideas. Give the new generations the tools to understand and innovate. Finally, preserve the most precious power of creation—to open us to the world and bring us together. This is the goal of the Lumière Summit, which I will co-chair with my Korean counterpart tomorrow in Saint-Paul-de-Vence. Action,” Macron wrote.

France already has a major gaming festival, Paris Games Week, but it’s possible that Macron is thinking more of a cultural exchange program than a business-oriented event.

Source: PCGamer

Parce que les jeux vidéo font partie de notre culture, nous allons créer un festival international du jeu vidéo. pic.twitter.com/45g7UYfOzk

— Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) September 7, 2026