Digital Sovereignty Review of Macron’s Term and Debates in the 2022 Presidential Campaign
One month before the French presidential election, this briefing assesses the actions undertaken during Macron's term as well as the presidential candidates' proposals concerning France's digital sovereignty.
Key Takeaways
- Emmanuel Macron’s five-year term has been characterized by notable efforts to reinforce French digital sovereignty through regulation, securing industries and infrastructures, and supporting strategic sectors.
- The candidates running for the 2022 presidential election tend to also adopt a maximalist view of sovereignty, which in the digital domain is not limited to data protection, but also includes an industrial component.
- While all the candidates denounce the current government’s policy on cloud computing, their other proposals in the digital domain are generally in line with the action taken since 2017.
- However, the weakness of the candidates’ proposals on the international dimension of technology is problematic, at a time when partners and rivals are articulating their foreign policies around these issues, with significant effects on Europe’s efforts toward digital sovereignty.
Available in:
Regions and themes
ISBN / ISSN
Share
Download the full analysis
This page contains only a summary of our work. If you would like to have access to all the information from our research on the subject, you can download the full version in PDF format.
Digital Sovereignty Review of Macron’s Term and Debates in the 2022 Presidential Campaign
Author(s)
Alice PANNIER
Former Associate Research Fellow, Former Head of Ifri's Center for Geopolitics of Technology, Ifri
Related centers and programs
Discover our other research centers and programs
Center for Geopolitics of Technology
Artificial intelligence (AI), 5G, cybersecurity, robotics, semiconductors, space…Technologies—particularly digital technologies—now profoundly affect all human activities and, by extension, international relations. The political, strategic, economic, and social stakes that arise from them are expressed across multiple political levels, involving states, international organizations, and private companies alike. International dynamics of competition and cooperation are being reshaped as a result. To address these challenges, Ifri launched its Geopolitics of Technology Center in 2020, offering a distinctly European perspective on the international issues surrounding so-called critical technologies.
Find out more
Discover all our analyses
Europe at the Crossroads of DefTech: Rethinking the European Defense Innovation Ecosystem
“The way I look at Iron Dome is as the ultimate manifestation of the future of the United States’ role in future conflicts, which is not to be the world police, but to be the world gun store,” said Palmer Luckey in November 2023. Luckey is the founder of Anduril, one of the most prominent DefTech companies. The ambition is clear: to participate in global rearmament by capitalizing on the quality of American innovations and to dominate the arms market—at least in the West—through technological mastery.
How Technology Is Reshaping the World Order
The central role of technology in the competition between the major powers is fueling an ever-more intense rivalry. Artificial intelligence is enabling large corporations to accrue unprecedented power, with consequences for states and even for international conflict. However, states do have tools at their disposal to regulate these developments. In this international competition, Europe has a strong hand, but must be prepared to play its cards in order to create a new kind of international cooperation.
Trump II vs. Digital Governance: A Crusade in the United States and Europe
Since taking office, the Trump II administration has waged a systematic deregulation campaign targeting the tech sector in both the United States and Europe. How can Europe maintain dialogue while preserving its governance framework?
Regulatory Dynamics and Tensions in the Space Sector: Towards and Americanization of Space Law?
The development of space law has gradually evolved from a top-down normative dynamic dominated by the founding impetus of the UN to a bottom-up normativity driven by national and industrial practices. This evolution is now accompanied by growing normative competition, raising the risk of an Americanization of space law and prompting the question of a European response.