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Dialogue with French President Macron: I hope Europe will become the core of the Web3 field

Read this article in 19 Minutes

The French President's ambitions for Web3 and the metaverse.

Original title: ""French innovation, audacity and genius have made our greatness and our success""

Original source: The Big Whale

Original compilation: Hu Tao, Lian catcher

Guide: Today, Macron won the French presidential election and officially re-elected the French president. Earlier last Friday, Macron had an interview with the local encryption media The Big Whale, talking about his views on the Web and the encryption industry. The main points include: I want to ensure that European players master the technical components related to Web3 and the Metaverse, so as not to depend on American or Chinese giants; I do not believe in a self-regulating financial sector, which is neither sustainable nor democratic; I want our major cultural institutions to develop NFT policies, for example by promoting, disseminating and protecting digital twins or their physical collections. body.

The following is the full translation of this interview:

The Big Whale: People are talking more and more about Web3. What does it mean to you? Is it a chance?

Macron: This is a request and an opportunity not to be missed. France and Europe have the opportunity to lead the next generation of the web, and France has the assets and talent to do so. In a world where technological developments precede economic dominance, maintaining our jobs and our independence is critical. But it is also a social and societal challenge:Among those who have mastered digital technology, artificial intelligence, quantum computing, blockchain code, and many who are excluded, the accelerated pace of technology is already a part of our society. important centrifugal force. We must ensure that technology remains at the service of society and progress.

The Big Whale: When you arrived at the Élysée in 2017, you said you wanted France to become a "start-up nation": a A country that can ensure the emergence of future leaders in technology. After five years as president, how do you rate it?

Macron:By the end of 2017, there were 3 unicorns in France. There are now 26. Investments in French start-ups have quintupled in five years and are expected to hit another record in 2022. But the most important thing for me is the fantastic change in atmosphere that we are witnessing. Today, capital flows create hundreds of thousands of jobs across the country, but most importantly, our best talent stays in France, presenting themselves while driving our country into the future with optimism. This is crucial.

Not only from an economic point of view, but also because we need more innovations to tackle the major social challenges of our time: ecological transition, population aging globalization, food challenges, etc. All of this is the result of the efforts of entrepreneurs and their employees, as well as the systemic support policies implemented by the government: financing, talent attraction, regulatory environment, investment in key technologies... A general discourse on supporting innovation, That's essential, or what's been done to cover fiber optics and mobile. French and European technological sovereignty is finally being established, but we still have a lot of work to do.

The Big Whale: If you are re-elected, what is your vision for French startups and French tech? What are your priorities? Number of unicorns, level of investment?

Macron:We have to go further. The past 5 years have helped us reboot and roll the game, but it's still not enough. The global economy and our everyday use is still almost entirely dominated by Anglo-Saxon or Chinese companies. That's why I set a goal of 100 French unicorns and 10 European giants emerging by 2030.

We need more of our companies, stronger, and growing in key areas like quantum computing, biotech, and the future of agriculture and energy. For this, we must intensify our efforts. It starts with talent.

The digital age is an extremely profound shift. We must work hard to train and give our society and our economy the tools to master it. If the French have their trust in me, we will expand code learning and digital adoption from fifth grade and train another 400,000-500,000 developers and computer specialists over the next five years. We must benefit from this effort to bring social mix and diversity into the core of our ecosystems.

The Big Whale: Do you think France and Europe are doing enough to invest in technology? Do you feel sorry for new unicorns like Ledger or Sorare being funded by big US funds?

Macron:In this case, things are also moving forward, but we have to go further. In recent years, we have focused on business growth. We must continue, but also ensure that more startups are created and funded each year. That's why we're working in two directions.

First, we must encourage early-stage financing for innovative companies by making our tax system more attractive. To do this, we must take inspiration from successful systems in our neighbours, such as the UK SEIS. We must then continue to build the French and European venture capital industry - both to launch a second "Tibi" program with institutional investors and to ensure that the commitment to scale up in Europe as soon as possible will allow for a strong European investment fund.

Having so much foreign investment in our ecosystem is an advantage in global competition as long as startups and technology Still headquartered in France, I'm all for it, but a strong ecosystem also means a strong European venture capital industry. In addition, we will continue to implement tax measures that are pro-innovation, such as the proven CIR, CII and JEI.

The Big Whale: France has many engineers and several leaders in fields such as data, artificial intelligence, video games or blockchain. But they are still relatively small compared with the giants in the United States and China. Is there a risk of missing out on the wave of new technologies again, as we did on the Internet 20 years ago?

Macron:We are currently re-entering the global technology game, and if we continue to pursue the right policies, we can win. The reason is simple: we have the best people. Our job is to create an environment that encourages them to stay in Europe. This is what is happening: the reforms implemented, the pandemic and the search for a better balance in terms of quality of life are the main assets of our continent.

Proof of this is that in 2021 Europe will create more unicorns than China for the first time. I would also like to mention the Digital Markets Act recently passed during the French presidency: I think it is the most important economic regulatory text since the early 20th century. We are reopening the game and allowing new players to emerge by fighting monopoly. In conclusion, there is still a long way to go, but if we make the right effort, I am very optimistic.

The Big Whale: You talked about the "European metaverse". What do you mean?

Macron:Web3 and the Metaverse could represent a new phase of the web as we know it . My wish is for Europe to play a central role in this, not as it currently is. I want to make sure that European players have the technological building blocks related to Web3 and the Metaverse, so as not to be dependent on US or Chinese giants. We already have a hotbed of players, whether in virtual and augmented reality, in digital twins, in the mastery of blockchain technology... Our idea is to support other alternative graphics engines, capturing technology, or address future challenges such as creating immersive universes that replicate the physics of our world. There are a lot of problems and we don't know all of them, but I hope we cultivate a strategic approach to these problems, especially an ecosystem.

Building a Euroverse also means producing, promoting and mastering our cultural and creative content. Due to its application in music, concerts, art exhibitions, etc., Metaverse has great potential in culture and leisure. We cannot think about our cultural policy without this revolution. I would like our major cultural institutions to develop NFT policies, for example by promoting, disseminating, and protecting digital twins or variations of their physical collections. Finally, through its language, heritage, cities, villages and monuments, France must also exist in the virtual world. I hope we can think about what a dematerialized French history museum might be in this universe: what a great project it would be to think about digital historiography of our collective history.

The Big Whale: Let's get back to Web3 and Crypto. Europe may be the leader here, but the European Parliament has just passed very strict regulations. At the same time, some countries are adopting Bitcoin as legal tender, although this is rare. Isn't there a risk of missing out on a major revolution yet again when research shows that French and Europeans are increasingly interested in these new currencies?

Macron: In this regard, I think clear principles are needed. First, technological mastery is a challenge for Europe with regard to these future technologies, which go far beyond the question of financial innovation, and we must prepare for it. So we already have leading players in France: Ledger or Sorare. We spring up more of them and attract the best to our territory.

Furthermore, I see a very strong interest in these technologies and the services they provide - especially among the younger generations - their application potential is huge. But I do not believe in a self-regulating financial sector. This is neither sustainable nor democratic. It is up to the public authorities to determine the appropriate conditions for the sector to grow with confidence while encouraging innovation.

For this we need a pragmatic approach: what does technology bring, what are the real problems (not fantasies), and how do we deal with them? This is the same idea adopted in the Convention Act, which established the first balancing rules in this field (taxation, accounting, regulatory framework for service providers, etc.). We must now ensure the consistency of rules across European territories to create a unified market.

In this context, I am in favor of rapid progress on MiCA regulations based on a balanced approach promoted by the Council and inspired by the French framework. France will watch closely that the bill does not impede innovation and is as neutral as possible in terms of technology. What is happening should also move us faster on the subject of a digital euro.

The Big Whale: Another cultural revolution that public authorities often seem to stay away from involves video games. You recently solved this problem.

Macron:Although it would be wrong to say that I am a very active video game player, I grew up with video games generation, I measure what they represent culturally, especially for our young people. This is a French asset in today's world: we are recognized worldwide as one of the great video game nations, renowned for the richness of our art, the quality of our training and the dynamism of our industry. We are lucky to have a strong French video game industry (Ubisoft, Quantic Dream, Voodoo...).

Nor do I forget the extent to which video games have been involved in the mastery of advanced technology. For Web3, this will be true again. Video games are an important part of French cultural soft cultural power, and also an important part of our country's image in the world. But also from our ability to understand social projections and representations. That's why I also hope that we will take a strategic approach and continue to create the right conditions to promote France as a video game nation.

We have adjusted the video game tax credit: we want to make it permanent and continue to work on financing and training to position and attract productions in our country. Finally, I haven't forgotten eSports, another area of French excellence with teams like Team Vitality or Karmine Corp. Here we have a historic opportunity: the 2024 Olympic Games. It is our duty to capitalize on the connection between these two World Olympiads by hosting the greatest esports events in the world: CS:GO Majors, League of Legends World Championship and Dota 2 International. If the French believe me, we will do it as soon as possible after my election. This is also where the influence of France lies.

The Big Whale: These digital revolutions can be exciting or exclusive. How do you respond to those who paint you as an apostle in the form of a "start-up nation" and technological "solutions"?

Macron:I think that the term "entrepreneurial nation" is rooted in the local, diverse, open to all talents "Entrepreneurial Nation". I want to coordinate start-ups and industry with the French 2030 investment program. Innovation and risk-taking echo our nation's rich history. France achieved some of its greatest technological and industrial achievements in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, thanks to what was then a sort of "entrepreneurial state". This is true for trains, planes, chemicals, vaccines...

French innovation, audacity and genius have made us great and successful. But, you are right, we have to think about all those who feel left out of this movement today. For this reason, I have placed a strong emphasis on the fight to bridge the digital divide during my five-year tenure. Never before has there been so much effort to deploy fiber or reduce white areas. Nearly 2,000 French services have opened and 4,000 digital advisors support our citizens every day in mastering digital tools. If I were elected, I would continue to use these positions and double their numbers: opposing transformations is absurd, but it is our duty to accompany and train all citizens to master them.