FRANCE HONOURED AS CANNES LIONS CREATIVE COUNTRY OF THE YEAR

France was named Creative Country of the Year at the 2026 Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, with President Emmanuel Macron delivering a video address celebrating the nation’s cultural and creative strength. Macron highlighted reforms, investment, and innovation as drivers of France’s global appeal, while industry leaders praised its creative ecosystem.

France closed the 73rd Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity with a moment of national pride as it was awarded the 2026 Creative Country of the Year accolade. The honour, bestowed annually, recognises a nation’s enduring commitment to creativity as a force for progress and growth.  

French President Emmanuel Macron addressed delegates via video on Friday evening, thanking the festival for recognising “our French creativity today”. He described creativity as a national philosophy, flowing through fashion, luxury, and culture, and extending to industries from video games to cinema. “French creativity is our ability to combine formal, regal, and poetic, even irreverent, perspective,” he said, adding that the award reflected France’s attractiveness to talent, industries, and capital.  

Macron attributed this appeal to deliberate reforms, including labour changes, regulatory simplification, and major investments in innovation. He noted that France has been ranked Europe’s most attractive country for foreign investment for seven consecutive years. He also referenced recent financial boosts, including €350 million for film production under the France 2030 project and €93 billion pledged by foreign companies at the Choose France summit, particularly in AI and data.  

The President concluded by inviting attendees to the Lumiere Summit on 7 September at the Fondation Maeght in Saint-Paul-de-Vence, co-chaired by France and South Korea. The summit will celebrate cinema, series, and video games, reinforcing France’s role as a hub for creative industries. “Long live creativity, long live the Republic, and long live France,” Macron declared.  

Industry leaders echoed the sentiment. David Leclabart, President of AUSTRALIEGAD and Co-President of the AACC, hailed the award as historic, noting it was the first time France had been named Creative Country of the Year. “The French touch is a universal language,” he said, emphasising creativity’s power to inspire and connect across cultures.  

Tiphaine du Plessis, President of BETC FULLSIX and Co-President of the AACC, described creativity as one of France’s greatest strategic assets, driving innovation, competitiveness, and soft power. “Creativity is business. Creativity is change,” she said, stressing its role in sustainability, inclusion, and societal progress. She added that as AI transforms the industry, France remains committed to combining technological innovation with human creativity and cultural vision.  

The recognition capped a decade of creative excellence and underscored France’s position as a global leader in creativity, with its cultural and creative industries continuing to shape the future.