Macron urges EU to challenge US and Chinese giants
May 16, 2019
From Pascale Paoli-Lebailly in Paris
French President Emmanuel Macron has urged a European alliance to take on US giants such as Netflix, Disney and Apple, and emerging Chinese competitors.
In a speech addressed to 130 cultural industry executives who were invited at the Elysée Palace, he said: “If we can’t get organised, we the French, the battle will be lost. In front of the digital challenges, the engagement must be collective”.
He said the battle has to be led on the European level taking, for example, the recent success met with the EU copyright directive. By the end of the year, a collective action plan will be outlined by the French Ministry of Culture in cooperation with the cultural industry sector.
Meanwhile, Macron agreed with the idea of a €225 million public fund to help French creative companies to develop. It was one of the recommendations in a report about the private financing of the movie and audiovisual production and distribution businesses recently released by producer Dominique Boutonnat.