In France, the Gross Gaming Revenue (GGR) of licensed operators in the online gambling sector reached nearly one and a half billion euros in the first half of 2026. It grew by 11% compared to the previous year, reported the local regulator ANJ.

The French gambling regulator ANJ has announced the expansion of its cooperation with the agency responsible for monitoring advertising in the country. This will now also apply to games with monetizable digital items, including Web3 games with blockchain, NFTs, and crypto-assets.

Game initiatives are rarely announced by the country’s top officials. However, this is exactly what happened in France.

The French video game crisis, much like around the world, has a systemic nature but also features several local characteristics. Today, we will delve into the causes — from fatal errors by major companies and management irresponsibility to issues with government subsidies and the role of unions.

The French STJV union announced a nationwide strike in protest against extensive layoffs that have been occurring regularly in the local game development sector. The strike is scheduled for this week, on June 25.

All for the protection of the mental health of French children and adolescents.

You voted — we delivered. Introducing a comprehensive report on the state of the European gaming market, complete with numerous graphs and data both for the region as a whole and for individual countries. We conducted an in-depth study of consumer spending along with other statistical metrics such as the number of gamers, developers, and gaming companies.

In recent months, the French authorities have been actively questioning the heads of major companies about the justification for granting them government support. Recently, the parliament invited Ubisoft’s CEO Yves Guillemot for a discussion.

Syndicat National du Jeu Video (SNJV), a trade organization, surveyed 577 French game development studios. She found out that more than half of the teams did not earn even 300 thousand euros last year. At the same time, the number of large studios has grown.

At the end of June, French President Emmanuel Macron blamed video games for the riots that were taking place in the country at that time. Almost three months later, he said that he did not condemn the video games themselves, but the violence that reigned on the streets of France.

France has decided to support game developers in Senegal. Its embassy in Senegal, together with the French studio Masseka Game Studio, invested 300 thousand euros in the creation of a “hybrid” gaming hub in the country.

The release of The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom has become one of the most successful in France. The newspaper Le Figaro, citing French retailers, reports that 500 thousand cartridges with the game were bought in the country during the debut week.

The French antitrust regulator may in the coming weeks send Apple a so—called statement of objections – a list of concerns that the privacy policy on iOS has caused it. This is reported by Axios sources.

Last year, the French spent €5.5 billion on video games, consoles and gaming PCs, according to the SELL association. They spent more only in 2020 and 2021.

The French authorities have recognized a number of entertainment applications as a threat to cybersecurity. Among the dangerous applications were TikTok, Netflix, Twitter and Candy Crush.

Last week, the National Commission for Information and Freedom of France (CNIL) imposed a fine of €3 million on Voodoo. The agency concluded that the mobile publisher violated the French data protection law.

Apple is facing a new fine. The Paris court ruled that the company had created unfavorable commercial conditions for developers in the App Store, and demanded to pay a fine of € 1 million.

It will become the seventh largest market in the world. This is stated in a recent Newzoo study.

Власти Франции продолжают продвигать свою языковую политику. На днях Министерство культуры страны выразило обеспокоенность, тем как часто люди используют англицизмы, когда говорят о видеоиграх. По мнению чиновников, из-за этого французам, далеким от игр, тяжело понимать, о чем идет речь.