French President Wishes to Host TI, CS:GO Majors and LoL Worlds Alongside Olympics in 2024

With the 2022 French presidential election right around the corner, the current president of France and presidential candidate Emmanuel Macron spoke about the importance of video games and esports in a recent interview with Tech portal thebigWhale. Macron explained how he intends to promote gaming culture in France, even going on to say that he wants “to promote France as THE country for video games”.

Macron also elaborated on the steps he would take to promote esports in France, promising to host some of the biggest esports events including CS:GO Majors, the League of Legends World Championships, and Dota 2’s The International.

President Macron pledges to promote esports in France if re-elected

French President Macron expressed that France is one of the “great video game nation[s]” recognized for the quality and dynamism of its industry. “Video games are an important component of French cultural soft cultural power and of our country's image around the world,“ he said.

He also went on to note France’s contributions to the esports industry. “Finally, I'm not forgetting esports, another field of French excellence with teams like Team Vitality or Karmine Corp,” he said. “In this respect, we have a historic opportunity: the 2024 Olympic Games. It is up to us to take full advantage to establish a link between the two worlds’ Olympiads by hosting the world's greatest esports events: CS:GO Majors, Worlds of League of Legends and The International of Dota 2.”

He went on to say that his government will work on these initiatives if he is re-elected. “If the French trust me, we will work on it as soon as I am elected. This is also the influence of France,” he added.

This is not the first time that Macron has shown interest in promoting esports. In May 2021, he congratulated League of Legends team Karmine Corp after its victory in the European Masters 2021 Spring.

“Dear Team Karmine Corp, You won’t be surprised if I tell you that I am not an expert in League of Legends, but I wanted to send you this message after learning of your beautiful victory,” he said in a private message to Karmine Corp founder Kabel “Kameto” Kebir. “As European Champions, you put our flag in the spotlight. You showed all of Europe that the French have talent in esports. So a big congratulations to the whole team!’

The fact that esports is being recognized by France’s president is certainly heartening. However, many are still skeptical about Macron's plans to bring esports to the forefront alongside the 2024 Olympics, claiming that he is merely pandering to the youth in the country.