French PM Emmanuel Macron Laughs at Deepfake Video, Promotes AI Summit and €109B AI Investment

Key Takeaways

• French President Emmanuel Macron has revealed plans for 109 billion euros of private AI investment in France.
• Macron made the announcement to mark the opening of the Paris AI Summit.
• He positioned the investment as France’s answer to Stargate—a $500 billion AI infrastructure venture announced by Donald Trump.

On day one of the Paris AI summit, French President Emmanuel Macron revealed plans for 109 billion euros of private AI investment that he called France’s equivalent to Stargate—the $500 billion AI infrastructure plan announced by Donald Trump in January.

The announcement sets the tone for the Paris summit, which is set to contrast with the focus on safety and risk that has characterized past summits. Bringing the point home, Macron shared a series of humorous deepfake clips to mark the event on social media.

Macron Engages With Social Media Deepfake Trend

In Macron’s social media posts, which have been viewed millions of times on Instagram, X, and TikTok, the president’s likeness is inserted into a 1980s music video, an influencer’s hair tutorial, and the television series MacGyver.

The post isn’t the first time deepfakes featuring Macron have circulated online. During France’s 2023 pension reform protests, AI-generated images depicting the president taking part in protests went viral .

In his recent posts, Macron engaged with the technology in a more lighthearted way.

“It’s pretty well done, it made me laugh,” he said. “But more seriously, with artificial intelligence, we can do some very big things […] France and Europe must be at the heart of this revolution to seize every opportunity and also to promote our own principles.”

France’s Answer to Stargate

Macron’s AI investment push positions France as a major player in global AI development.

While significantly smaller than Trump’s proposed $500 billion Stargate initiative, Macron said the sum is equivalent in scale given France’s smaller population.

Anticipating an AI Summit that is expected to focus on European competitiveness, he said: “I can tell you this evening, Europe is going to speed up, France is going to speed up.”