Emmanuel Macron’s “sovereignty” streak continues. This Wednesday afternoon, the President of the Republic went to the VivaTech fair in Paris. On the occasion of the opening of this event dedicated to new technologies, the Head of State presented new measures to support a sector encountering financing difficulties, after good years.
Emmanuel Macron first answered on artificial intelligence. If France is “in a good position in continental Europe”, it must accelerate, under penalty of being left behind by the Americans and the Chinese, he noted. “The worst-case scenario” would be for Europe to invest less than its competitors in AI, while going “much further” in its regulation, warned Emmanuel Macron.
To go “much faster and stronger”, the government will therefore first “accelerate training”, relying on the pool of research organizations and universities to acquire the best talent for tomorrow. “We must set ourselves the objective of doubling the number of training courses”, he indicated, saying that he wanted to bring out “five to ten IA clusters, up to 500 million euros”, to see “ two to three centers of excellence” in France. In addition, Paris wants to improve its computing capacities, a “huge constraint” to move forward on the AI file. The President of the Republic said in particular that he wanted to move forward on the question of “gigacomputers”. Finally, on generative AI, Emmanuel Macron said he believed in the open source model.
Downstream, the Head of State wishes to define “how the State and the community” derive benefits from artificial intelligence. Citing the example of our Estonian neighbors, who use these technologies to “deal with small civil disputes”, Emmanuel Macron estimated that a “lot of things” could be improved thanks to AI. Immigration was thus cited as an example, France having a “data processing capacity problem”: in this context, these technologies must make it possible to “process much faster” these flows, while limiting fraud and avoiding increase hiring, he explained.
“The battle for our sovereignty is also played out in the algorithms”, estimated the Elysée in a press release issued before the trip. On the sidelines of his visit to the show, the Head of State was to address “the challenges of technology and innovation in France”, and shed light on the “financing levers” of companies and young shoots in this field. .
Emmanuel Macron was also eagerly awaited on his vision for artificial intelligence, while some experts call for a pause in its development, while others highlight the issues of sovereignty linked to these technological upheavals. “I want France to be the champion in this area and to position itself at the forefront of this new industrial revolution,” he wrote on Twitter on Tuesday, calling for action “in Europeans” on this subject.
Ardèche on Tuesday for medicines, visit to a Chamatex factory manufacturing sneakers on the same day, presence at the opening of the VivaTech show on Wednesday, speech expected on Friday on aviation and the production of sustainable fuels “at home”… President of the Republic multiplies the interventions, this week, around sovereignty. A way to highlight his fight on this subject, and the successes obtained in his eyes. A way, too, to turn the page on pension reform.
