French Touch should be added to UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage list, says President Macron

French president Emmanuel Macron has voiced his support for French Touch to be added to UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage list.

In a new interview aired on FG Radio 23rd June, President Macron called for the signature French dance sound to be considered for the prestigious cultural honour, comparing it to Berlin techno’s success in securing the same categorisation in March 2024. “We’re going to do that too!”, he told Happy Hour presenter Antoine Baduel. “I love Germany, you know how European I am, but we don’t need any lessons”, he added, per Resident Advisor. 

President Macron went on to say, “We are the inventors of electro” — incorrectly using that genre as a synonym for French Touch — “…we have this French Touch, these artists, so yes!” He also expressed measured enthusiasm for artificial intelligence, calling it a “revolution”, but urging, “AI must not replace human intelligence. It must not trivialise creativity.” He emphasised the need for copyright protection, transparency in AI tools and an artist-centric model. 

The FG Radio interview was timed with the end of the first France Music Week (16th to 21st June), where President Macron gave the concluding keynote address, and the country’s annual Fête de la Musique. 

Revisit Ben Cardew’s 2018 Solid Gold feature on the pivotal French Touch record, Motorbass’ 1996 album ‘Pansoul’, plus this 2019 exploration on key genre hit Stardust’s ‘Music Sounds Better With You’ for its 21st anniversary by Bruce Tantum.