YouTube News

Macron pushed YouTube to finance local content

At the Lumière Summit he co-chaired with Lee Jae Myung, the French president said YouTube now outdraws Netflix in more than 20 markets.

Emmanuel Macron told cinema and platform executives on Monday that YouTube belongs in the same regulatory ecosystem as Netflix, Amazon, and Disney, with obligations to invest in local production. The French president co-chaired the inaugural Lumière Summit in Saint-Paul-de-Vence with South Korean President Lee Jae Myung as delegates from 65 countries debated financing, artificial intelligence, and the future of theatrical film.

Macron said YouTube has become the default video platform in many countries and pulls viewers away from broadcasters and streamers that pre-invest in creation. He said the Google-owned service now outdraws Netflix in more than 20 international markets.

France and other governments need to engage YouTube multilaterally, Macron said, to shift the platform toward financing local content and showing more respect for authors. He framed the timing as deliberate: the industry is undergoing upheaval from YouTube, TikTok, artificial intelligence, and media consolidation.

In opening remarks at the Fondation Maeght, Macron warned that endless social feeds risk digesting culture before audiences can absorb it. "Our attention is an economic resource," he said, according to a translator. Lee Jae Myung echoed the urgency and pointed to a Franco-Korean pact to invest more than $1 billion in production and animation.

YouTube declined an invitation to attend while Netflix and TikTok sent representatives. Macron said France's levy-funded cultural model, administered through the CNC, would face renewed political pressure after he leaves office in May.