On Monday, September 7, 2026, the stage of the first Sommet Lumière, in Saint-Paul-de-Vence, first belongs to film and animation. Then Emmanuel Macron addresses the crowd of professionals gathered for this new event and switches subjects. He announces he wants to create an international video game festival.
Journal du Geek captured the full remarks that same evening: « I very deeply believe that video games are part of our culture and should be part of French cultural exception, just as we managed to do for film and every other art form. So we will create an international video game festival designed from the outset as a major global gathering for creation, innovation, players, and the industry. We need to give it more recognition and succeed in winning everyone’s support. »
The same day at 3:22 PM, Emmanuel Macron’s X account summed up the announcement in one sentence: « Because video games are part of our culture, we are going to create an international video game festival. » At the time of capture, the post had 2.2 million views.
An international video game festival promised, but few details
Presse-citron places the scene at the Sommet Lumière, which brought together creative professionals from many countries in Saint-Paul-de-Vence. Nothing is specified that day about what form the project will take.
Journal du Geek‘s own headline actually frames it around winning over a « gaming electorate, » a reading that belongs to that outlet, not to us.
Montpellier and summer 2027, ten months to build everything
According to Frandroid, and Presse-citron citing information from BFM, the French state has reportedly approached Montpellier, the city under consideration, with a first edition of the international video game festival targeted for summer 2027. The city already hosts Ubisoft and Sandfall, the studio behind Clair Obscur: Expedition 33.
The Syndicat national du jeu vidéo, cited by Frandroid, puts the French industry’s revenue at €6 billion, across 575 studios and 10,000 direct jobs.
From September 2026 to summer 2027, that leaves about ten months to build this international video game festival.
The Paris Games Week, gamescom, and a World Cup already secured
In France, the Paris Games Week already exists. Held every autumn in Paris, it has turned itself into something of a festival, with night concerts and influencers, notes Frandroid. More and more announcements now happen during that event, as shown by our September showcase schedule.
Frandroid also points out that E3, the industry’s global benchmark for twenty years, closed its doors for good in 2023, leaving a gap in the world calendar.
In Germany, gamescom, where organizers had to apologize this year after equipment thefts on independent booths, broke its attendance record in 2026 and welcomed, for the first time, a sitting German federal president, Frank-Walter Steinmeier.
The weekend before the announcement, ZEVENT 2026 had raised €33 million in donations for charities, a sign of how much weight the French audience carries, reports Journal du Geek.
France has already attracted a global video game event this year. According to BFM Tech, the Esports World Cup, taken away from Saudi Arabia, is set to be held in Paris. « Macron really is the one who landed this event, » a source close to the matter told BFM Tech. The article, published in May 2026, placed the competition in July.
The press release cited by BFM Tech announces more than 2,000 players and 200 clubs, from over 100 countries, across 24 games split into 25 tournaments, for a record prize pool of more than $75 million. BFM Tech cites the Accor Arena and the Adidas Arena, both already seasoned esports venues, and floats the Grand Palais as a dream. According to the same outlet, the event’s economic impact in Paris could reach €300 to 400 million.
A festival modeled on Cannes, not another trade show
Presse-citron wonders what form this event will take: will it look like a trade show such as gamescom, or an awards festival the way Cannes does for film? Existing major events (Summer Game Fest, The Game Awards, gamescom, Tokyo Game Show) remain private and geared toward publisher marketing.
Emmanuel Macron’s speech hints at a different goal, driven by public authorities and centered on creation rather than commercial announcements.
The Tokyo Game Show, which just celebrated its thirtieth anniversary over five days, illustrates that other format precisely, a publisher trade show, not a creative jury.
A video game festival modeled on Cannes or Angoulême would require a jury, a selection process, and awards, a far cry from a publisher’s booth.
Journal du Geek also warns that this event should not turn out to be just one more trade show, especially since the Paris Games Week already fills a good part of the calendar.
What the project is still missing
Frandroid sums up the situation in one sentence: « For now, nobody knows the budget, the organizer, or the exact date. » Building a global festival in about ten months leaves, by that outlet’s own admission, little room for error.
Contacted by BFM TV and quoted by Presse-citron, Nicolas Vignolles, managing director of the Sell, which organizes the Paris Games Week, tempers the enthusiasm: « The Sell was consulted over the summer and is glad that such a project is under consideration. Anything that can help video games shine in France has our full support. We are waiting to learn more, to see how major international publishers could contribute. »
For now, he says, he remains focused on the biggest event in the sector in France this year: the Paris Games Week.
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