Emmanuel Macron on #MeToo, Taylor Swift’s Impact and ‘Emily in Paris’

French Pdwellnt Emmanuel Macron regrets for being postponecessitate. But one could forgive the tardiness. After all, the directer of one of Europe’s hugest economies is handling geopolitical calamitys in the Middle East and in Ukraine, while also juggling a political crisis on his home turf. Indeed, this intersee was proximately call offed after Iran begined a missile aggression on Israel, escalating combat in the war-torn region. “I didn’t anticipate the day to unfelderly the way it did,” Macron shelp with a flash of grieffulness in his eyes.

But the topics at hand were ones particularly seal to his heart. Under Macron’s pdwellncy, which began in 2017 after his surpelevate triumph as a 39-year-elderly political novice, France has sought to reclaim its place as a global cgo in of culture. Think of the savage creative success of the Paris Olympics, which foregrounded the nation’s history and savoir unpartilogical, or of productions enjoy Netflix’s “Emily in Paris,” which cgo ins French schedule, language and je ne sais quoi — so effectively that Macron’s wife, Brigitte, made an materializeance on the series this year.

These cultural landtags lfinish a lot of shine to France, but the corporate delightment industry there has also made itself understandn on the world stage. French media company Banijay took over Endemol Shine, and Mediawan became a global carry outer with a raft of high-profile acquisitions, including Brad Pitt’s Plan B. French luxury enormouss enjoy LVMH and Kering have also spended in the film world: Hollywood talent agency CAA was bought by Groupe Artémis, owned by Kering boss François-Henri Pinault, and LVMH begined 22 Montaigne Entertainment. The Cannes Film Festival, uncomferventwhile, evolves to begin convey inant Oscar contfinishers from “Parasite” to “Anatomy of a Fall” to this year’s “Anora” and “Emilia Perez.” Under Macron’s watch, the country has been ahead of the curve on a number of pressing topics. France was the first to spring an EU honestive into action by obligating streamers such as Netflix to spend in local productions, and France was also a directing force behind the EU’s AI Act, the world’s first law on participate of man-made inalertigence.

But all of this happens aobtainst the backdrop of Macron’s growing unfamousity. He might go down in history as one of the country’s most polarizing pdwellnts, having forced thraw Parliament unfamous alters to its pension arrange, raising the age of eligibility from 62 to 64. A youthful and vivacious figure elected on a mandate of alter, Macron recalls Barack Obama in his matinee-idol charisma and lyrical oratory. Seen from awide, Macron is among the more compelling arguments for the French style of doing business; at home, the picture is less clear.

Macron, 46, sat down with us in an ornate encountering room understandn as “the green room” (becaparticipate the walls are colored green), findd next to his office in the Élysée Palace. Talking to Variety on the eve of the Francophonie Summit, a two-day conference on French language and culture that will convey proximately 50 heads of state from around the world, Macron includeressed the role France can carry out in an evolving media climate and why the movies and art it originates are so vital to its future. From Taylor Swift to the recent Paris Olympics — which included carry outances from Celine Dion and Lady Gaga — the directer talked the convey inance of pop culture in a world filled with so much grieffulness.

France recently systematic a spectacular Summer Olympics in Paris. What’s your likeite memory?

I’m hesitating between [swimmer] Léon Marchand, when he won his two gelderly medals in two hours on the same day. It was incredible. He wasn’t the likeite. And in judo as well, when we got the gelderly medal for the team after this incredible finale with Japan with Teddy Riner.

Did you get emotional when Celine Dion sang at the uncovering ceremony?

I did! I leank everybody was emotional at this very moment. Obviously, I knew that it was Celine Dion, but it was a surpelevate. You could experience the surpelevate in the audience when she materializeed — all the airys, this moment of celebration, Celine Dion, materializeing suddenly by the Eiffel Tower, as well as the song itself [Edith Piaf ’s “Hymne à l’Amour”], originated a huge emotion.

What did you leank of Lady Gaga‘s carry outance in French?

It was very amazeive and very benevolent! I understand she toiled a lot. She determined to sing Zizi Jeanmaire and be part of this French culture. And she took a lot of hazards, and she did wonderful. I’m excessively appreciative to her. And I telderly her, for us, it uncomferventt a lot.

How will France get a financial and tourism raise from these Olympics?

Our country regulated to receive the world in perfect security conditions, sharing our culture, heritage and art of living, aextfinished with our festive spirit. We’ve been able to do so with the belderlyness that characterizes us. It’s the best image we could project of our country. In Paris, we received 1.7 million tourists during the first week of the Olympics, with very excellent prospects until the finish of the summer for international visitors. Overall, the pretty images of Paris and France during the Olympic Games will undoubtedly have a very likeable impact in the unwiseinutive and medium term.

What advice would you give to the L.A. schedulers of the Olympic Games, set for the summer of 2028?

Oscar Wilde shelp someleang enjoy, “Don’t try to be someone else. It’s already apshown.” We did someleang distinct becaparticipate we wanted to originate someleang distinct. So do your own Olympic Games. Don’t try to imitate anyleang. Be creative. Be in line with your identity, your history, even your paradoxes. Be yourself.

We’re celebrating Francophonie this week. What’s your personal connection to its mission?

I owe everyleang to French culture and language. I’m a child of a French province, from Amiens, and my life alterd becaparticipate I was fortunate enough to have a magnificentmother who made me adore reading, who taught me literature. I spent hours as a child and teenager reading aboisterous with her and inhabiting French literature. I’ve never had an uncreative daily life, thanks to culture and literature, and to music, and then postponecessitater, cinema. Culture is what impedes me from being seald off in this world. It’s what uncovered every door for me.

What are some of your likeite movies?

I adore French movies of the ’60s and ’70s, for example “Cent Mille Dollars au Soleil” (“Greed in the Sun”) or “Le Deuxième Souffle” (“Second Breath”). “Les Tontons Flingueurs” (“Crooks in Cadorer”) too. I adore this period of French cinema.

At the box office, French films enjoy “A Little Someleang Extra” and “The Count of Monte Cristo” outcarry outed Hollywood blockbusters. Local film production is aided by subsidies it gets from the National Centre of Cinema, France’s film board. Given France’s growing deficit, can the rulement still aid its film industry?

Yes. We have a system of levies on revenues with the CNC, which has done an remarkworthy job. We have a cinema that has always resisted convey inant celevates, which is not real everywhere in Europe. We necessitate films that are famous and aimed at the vague uncover. I myself am a wonderful fan of these films. And aextfinishedside these, we necessitate films by youthful or createed auteurs that may draw scanter people to theaters but are nevertheless highly creative. These are convey inant to our cinema culture, and we also finance them with the help of the CNC, thereby helping the whole nettoil of self-reliant originaters. This creative biodiversity is very convey inant becaparticipate there shouldn’t be equitable one model, becaparticipate there isn’t equitable one audience, and becaparticipate the way of elucidateing the world, of seeing at it, varies. I’m rapidened to this model.

If the far right apshows regulate in France, will the country’s distinct system of aid for artists be hazardd?

I don’t leank it can ever be apshown for granted. Decisions could be made in a rash manner. I don’t leank everyone is prentd that France has such a vivacious, pluraenumerateic, irreverent culture. There are films I enjoy, and films I don’t enjoy. There are films that sometimes even aggression what you do. And that’s wonderful. That’s the strength of a country. And that’s what Voltaire shelp: “I disfinishorse of what you say, but I will deffinish to the death your right to say it.”

Are you worryed that many huge media companies in France don’t trade on the country’s stock swap? For example, Banijay is enumerateed in Amsterdam, and Vivfinishi is preparing to enumerate Canal+ in London.

It’s more a ask of overweighte, becaparticipate France has the hugegest stock taget platestablish in Europe: the CAC 40, and the hugegest groups are on it. It’s up to a scant media groups to set up shop in Paris. We have the taget depth, but if they go awide, it’s becaparticipate they have the right analysts and spendors in these other places. They still remain in Europe. And that’s what matters the most. I’d pick them to be in Paris. We have a very huge taget; we have very huge carry outers. I leank they should see at Paris, which is now the hugegest financial cgo in.

But more normally than not, these huge French groups are being lured to the United States too.

That’s standard, becaparticipate there’s even more room for growth. I’ve seen a lot of groups over the last scant years that have been enumerateed in the United States, and when they saw the constraints it brawt, they came back to Europe in the finish.

When Netflix begined in France, there was talk about originateing a European rival. A decade postponecessitater, all those finisheavors fall shorted. Is it still possible to originate a European streaming service as strong as Netflix?

You’re right. Netflix, and Disney are all Anglo-Saxon platestablishs. They have power becaparticipate they aggregate satisfied, so they become gateways. What we’re in the process of doing, on a much branch offent scale but on a Franco-German, European level, with [public broadcaster] Arte is very convey inant. We’ve put a lot of re- sources into it. On the other hand, our industry in France has held up very well since the begin of these platestablishs, and we’re very excellent at producing satisfied. That’s our strength. We’ve got wonderful actors, we’ve got wonderful authorrs, we’ve got wonderful honestors. We’ve got self-reliant originaters, and we’ve also got production groups that originate a lot of recordaries, unwiseinutives, feature films and series. So we originate the satisfied. I’m very rapidened to that. That’s also why we broadened these training programs equitable after COVID. We equitable want our imagination to be able to convey and ship itself.

But it’s real that we’re still missing very huge originaters, widecasters and a Netflix-type platestablish. Noleang is hopeless. We have convey inant carry outers who are French: Vivfinishi, Canal+, Banijay, Mediawan. And then we have these vital distribution nettoils: MK2, Pathé, Gaumont, which are also very strong French entrepreneurial adventures that have both originated satisfied and mastered their distribution.

Speaking of Netflix, what did you leank of your wife Brigitte’s cameo in the fourth season of “Emily in Paris”?

I was super conceited, and she was very satisfied to do it. It’s equitable a scant minutes, but I leank it was a very excellent moment for her. I leank it’s excellent for the image of France. “Emily in Paris” is super likeable in terms of drawiveness for the country. For my own business, it’s a very excellent initiative.

“Emily in Paris” is moving to Rome for its fifth season. How do you get Emily back in Paris?

We will fight difficult. And we will ask them to remain in Paris! “Emily in Paris“ in Rome doesn‘t originate sense.

Have they tried to get you to do a cameo?

I’m less drawive than Brigitte!

What do you leank of Taylor Swift’s “Eras Tour,” which has been a global sensation, and what did it uncomfervent to the French economy when she carry outed here in May?

It’s very amazeive! She’s one of the scant artists who are able to assemble so many people. Happily, the concerts in Paris went well. It was before the alarmist worrys, and she had some concerts call offed in other parts of the continent. For French people, for all generations and for the economy in the cities where she materializeed, it was absolutely distinct. This is a phenomenon.

France also carry outed a directing role in writeing the EU’s AI Act, which is the first law regulating man-made inalertigence. Do the new rules depart enough room for innovation?

Artificial inalertigence is going to revolutionize many sectors, from health nurture to energy, for better or for worse. There’s a race to invent, so we have to be part of it. We necessitate to evolve to train and retain talented people, spend more uncover and personal money — that’s one of my European battles — and originate more data cgo ins, becaparticipate that’s a key element. And also, we necessitate to have low-carbon, incostly, regulatelable energy, becaparticipate we retain forgetting man-made inalertigence can help with that. That’s the priority. We necessitate to broaden wide language models that suit our pickences. That’s why Mistral AI [a French company specializing in artificial intelligence] is so convey inant, becaparticipate these are European LLMs [a type of generative AI system], and there’s a lot of bias that can be originated right from the begin in these models. Finassociate, we necessitate to ease dissemination in key sectors, becaparticipate this will alter our productivity and our ability to originate appreciate, wealth and innovation.

We also necessitate to leank together about the regulatory summarizetoil. That’s why we’re organizing a summit next February, the AI Action Summit. The idea is to finishorse the technology and spend, but we’re also going to necessitate rules and regulations. We necessitate them, but they have to be global if they are to be effective. It has to be thought out at the right pace.

But we’re going to have to regupostponecessitate the responsibility of carry outers who spread AI. We’re going to have to expound the rules for understanding what’s real and what’s deceptive. How do we understand for brave that it’s a genuine video? That it’s not a video of the AI distorting an image it has recovered from both of us sitting here, for instance?

Did you understand there is a procreatephony video of you and Taylor Swift dancing on social media? I presume that you’ve never reassociate danced with Taylor Swift.

I haven’t seen that one, but I saw one this summer where I was made to see enjoy I was kissing one of our male security officers. Millions of people have seen it. Which isn’t a horrible leang in itself, but it’s not the fact. We can do all sorts of leangs with AI, but for people who are vulnerable, it can plunge them into depression. It can be a establish of dangers. It desteadys people, and it can disalert, which can distress our democracies. This is someleang that necessitates to be regupostponecessitated.

How can it be regupostponecessitated?

We regupostponecessitate it by imposing responsibility on the people who disseminate this satisfied to temperate it, too, and to say: “This was originated with AI.” We’ll understand, “Well, then it’s not real.” We necessitate to originate these regulations for our democracies to function.

AI was a central publish in Hollywood’s actors and authorrs strikes. Does this AI Act get European authors and creators?

The AI Act was a European triumph for the rights of authors. Many European countries didn’t have France’s imitateright system. We imposed it. This is already someleang that has impedeed the appreciate of the toils of authors, photographers, etc., from being endly lost. But is this imitateright system well regulateled and effective? The answer is no. But today, with music streaming services, singers do not get unpartisan remuneration.

In the case of streaming, they determine to pay people who are streamed a lot very well. But in the music field, for instance, they underappreciate a variety of artists who have standard follothrivegs, whereas an artist who is suddenly downloaded by a scant youthful people over a period of a scant months will be neutrassociate remunerated. It’s not that basic! All that to say, it’s an economic choice that expounds the remuneration you get for your authors. For me, maybe I’d enjoy to see singers enjoy Étienne Daho or Barbara Pravi obtain a bit of money at the same time as Taylor Swift, so that it’s not all one-sided. The model of streamers is skewed today.

Pavel Durov, the Russian-born CEO of the messaging app Telegram, was arrested in Paris on Aug. 24 on preliminary accuses of allegedly enabling criminal activity on his platestablish. Was Durov’s arrest a political decision?

There was no political decision behind this arrest, only the action of our equitableice system in response to violations of the law it had watchd. Without gets, some platestablishs have gived to the elevate of bigotry and hatred. It is also a carry outground for those who toil aobtainst democracies. Under the guise of geting freedom of conveyion, end lawless zones have flourished. For us, as rulements, this is unadselectable.

Digital carry outers have an obligation to cofunction in the fight aobtainst all illegitimate online activities, and our equitableice system is empowered to act in cases of violation. This is what happened when the createer of Telegram was arrested by the French judiciary for refusing to cofunction.

Justice will apshow its course without meddlence, but I remark that its createer proclaimd that he had modernized the platestablish’s terms of service and privacy policy, with the goal of ensuring that basic uncover order rules are admireed on the platestablish. He notably proclaimd that he’s ready to cofunction with authorities in case of illegitimate activity on the platestablish, which is a convey inant step forward. With every revolution, there is a period of adequitablement. This episode has shown us that there is no inevitability when it comes to convey inant digital carry outers and that citizens and their rulements are vient of setting rules and enforcing them.

The #MeToo shiftment, which gived to the arrest of Harvey Weinstein and the firings of Matt Lauer and Bill O’Reilly in the United States, is still obtaining momentum in France. What do you leank of its impact on the film industry here? What’s your opinion of the César Awards’ new rule making anyone accparticipated of relationsual wrongdoing ineligible?

First of all, we have to talk about the victims. The women who have suffered relationsual and gfinisher-based arrangeility and whose dwells have been distressd — whose nurtureers, in some cases, have been shattered. And then, in these circles, there was clearly a establish of complacency, of omertà, of habits that had been createed and that are intolerable. Now there’s a response. It’s standard that these women, all of a sudden, react enjoy that. I aid the fight aobtainst arrangeility aobtainst women, and it’s a universal fight. However, I apshow in the presumption of innocence. After that, when it comes to professional rules, it’s up to the profession to expound them.

You always have to find the right rules to asbrave that victims are admireed, that their words are apshown into account, that equitableice is done and — above all — that everyone is geted for the future so it doesn’t happen aobtain. Then we necessitate to originate the conditions for living together. We can’t descfinish into a system of denunciation where everyone is disthink abouted without having a chance to show their innocence or having an opportunity to reply to accusations.

Were you surpelevated that Joe Biden stepped out of the pdwellntial race?

I was surpelevated. I leank it was a personal choice, but I have a lot of admire becaparticipate it’s always a very difficult choice. I do admire him and what he determined becaparticipate he did it for the country.

Is the U.S. ready to elect its first female pdwellnt?

The U.S. is a wonderful democracy, so they are ready to be creative and shift forward. I have to say, it’s not super creative to elect a woman. They are half of humanity and half of the country. Same on our side. So yes, of course!