Scene
French President Emmanuel Macron has announced plans to nominate “French Touch” – the wave of house music that put France on the global club map in the ‘90s – for UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage list.
In an interview on Radio FG, Macron framed it as a cultural mission. After Berlin techno secured UNESCO recognition last year, France, he said, should follow suit: “We don’t need lessons. We invented electro. We have that French Touch.”
It’s a bold claim, and not entirely accurate – electronic music has many roots, including Detroit, Chicago, and Berlin – but French Touch undeniably shaped a moment. Artists like Daft Punk, Cassius, and Stardust gave the genre a distinct identity: filtered disco loops, melancholic synths, and a stylish visual aesthetic that made it instantly exportable.
UNESCO status would be a symbolic win. It would mean that music once considered disposable club fare is now treated as cultural heritage, alongside things like traditional calligraphy or Neapolitan pizza. Macron’s government has already secured that status for everything from baguettes to lavender harvesting.
Still, some see this as pure optics. France is facing mounting social and economic tensions, and critics were quick to point out the disconnect. “World War Three is looming,” one MP tweeted, “and Macron is lobbying for Daft Punk.”
But this isn’t just about nostalgia. It’s also about control, over how cultural value is defined, and who gets to define it. In an age where AI is rapidly entering creative industries (another concern Macron addressed in the same interview), locking in human-made, scene-built legacies like French Touch could be seen as a form of cultural defense.
The real test will come if the nomination moves forward. UNESCO demands more than iconic tracks – it looks for living traditions and community support. Whether French Touch still lives as a scene, or mostly survives in Spotify playlists and YouTube algorithms, might determine if the bid holds up.
