While emphasizing the importance of the sector, Macron once again reiterated his support for the pan-European approach to financial technology regulation.
The interview with French publication The Big Wale came on Friday, two days before the runoff that will see Macron face the right-wing populist Marine Le Pen. According to most polls, Macron is likely to win, yet the margin is expected to be very thin. In the 2017 election, he outpaced LePen with 66.1% of the vote in the second round.
In response to a series of queries regarding the digital economy, Web 3.0, and cryptocurrency, the incumbent president maintained his skepticism of innovation:
“It represents [...] an opportunity not to be missed [...] for France and Europe to lead the future generations of the web. But it is also a social and societal challenge.”
Macron seemed pleased to note how the number of french unicorn companies — that is, private startups valued at $1 billion or more — rose from three to 26 during his presidential term, while overall investments in French startups increased fivefold.
The president also elaborated on his earlier mention of the "European metaverse,” saying that it is important that European players do not depend on American or Chinese technological giants “mastering the technological building blocks associated with Web3.” Europe, he maintained, has an edge in the non-fungible token (NFT) sector due to its immense cultural heritage.
